Invincible
by FAH3
Summary: FINISHED! KP/Superman Fussion. All of Kim's life, she had never been normal. The reason why will be beyond anything she could have dreamed.
1. Chapter 1

I know I've got other stories going on, but I couldn't pass this up. I know the Secret Identity story isn't finished, but I've wanted to write this one for a while. So I've finally decided to write my own KP/Superman fussion. This one isn't like my Secret Identity stories. I've merged the Superman mythos with this one. And I'm doing my best to make sure it isn't some rip off of Kim Possible: The Last. So, enjoy.

* * *

Invincible

By FAH3

He released a deep sigh as he watched the red sun set in the distance and all the different hues it created. It was such a beautiful world, and it was so ravaged by the recent civil war. How? How did they come to this? Their race abandoned the ideals of war eons ago and had embraced the ways of peace and science ever since then. Even on their colony ships, the weapons wouldn't come online unless it was threatened. The use of money had been abolished, so it couldn't have been for wealth. The continents were governed as a whole, a utopia. Why? Why would someone want to disrupt and change everything they knew? Why would someone who had been trusted by so many with so much want to cause all this destruction? What had gone wrong?

"Jor-El?" a voice asked behind him. The young man turned to see someone he trusted behind him. He could tell from his features that their current situation was weighing heavily on him as well, "It's almost time. You should get ready." He said.

"I know, Zol-Van. How is – the prisoner?" Jor-El asked, stopping himself before he said the name that was now so – undesirable.

"Quiet. He hasn't said anything, or even blinked. He just sits there." The elder man said.

"Thank you. I will be there shortly." Jor-El said.

When the man left, Jor-El opened the thin locker that was in the wall and removed the black robe that he thought he would never wear again. The last time he wore it, it was to decide the fate of the crew of a hostile ship of aliens that tried to invade one of their lunar colonies. Now, it was to judge one of their own. His followers had already been taken care of; they didn't require the full council. But with their leader, all members of the governing council would be needed. He dressed himself in the dark robe, followed by the emerald cape that would flow behind him. To keep the cape from falling from his shoulders, he clipped the two ends of the cloth to his family crest. A pentagonal crest with what appeared to be an elaborate S inside of it.

* * *

Jor-El entered the large dome structure and took his place behind the hovering podium. When the smooth surface became lit, he placed his bare palm against it. 

"_State your name for vocal identification."_ The smooth, digital voice said.

"Jor-El, of the house of El. Member of the Governing Council of the planet Krypton." He said clearly.

"_Brain Interactive Construct concurs. Welcome Jor-El."_ It said as it raised Jor-El several feet into the air.

The lights dimmed as eleven three dimensional holographic images came to life beside Jor-El, each dressed the same as him. The only difference was that their capes were of various different colors, and their symbols differed from the one that Jor-El was wearing.

"_The council members of Krypton's twelve continents has gathered. Bring the prisoner forward."_ The hologram in the middle spoke.

In the center of the dark chamber, a bright light from above came to life and lit one center area. The floor opened, and a platform beneath lifted a man in shackles. His dark brown hair was slicked backward, revealing a broad face that was decorated with a then, neatly trimmed beard. He wore a black body suit, decorated with elaborate silver armor that seemed to make him look like a Greek God. A black cape hung from his shoulders while his symbol, engraved onto his breast plate, seemed to glow from the blue crystal that made its design. The symbol seemed to resemble an elaborate design of the letter Z. As he stood before the council, to glowing orbs of light began to circle him until they formed two spinning rings to keep him from moving from escaping.

"_This trial shall now begin. Jor-El, what are the charges against the accused?"_

"General Zod was arrested while attempting to overthrow the ruling council, and inciting a civil war. Zod has been charged with treason, sabotage, and mutiny. Zod also faces multiple accounts torture, assault, the destruction of civilian and military outposts, and multiple accounts of murder by himself and his followers." Jor-El stated.

"_General Zod, how do you plea to the charges against you?"_ the head council member asked. All he received in response was nothing but silence. _"By not answering the question, this council will accept it as a plea of guilty. General Zod, the evidence against is more than damning. You were once a trusted member of this council, but your recent actions can not be ignored. If found guilty, you shall be sentenced to the Phantom Zone. Do you have anything to say in your defense?"_ Again, the only answer was nothing but silence. _"Then we shall decide the verdict. For your acts of treason against the planet and the Governing Council of Krypton, this council has no hesitation in declaring you,"_

"_Guilty."_

"_Guilty."_

Each verdict from the council echoed like a thunderbolt as Zod merely stood, and did nothing. He did not flinch, he did not move, he didn't even blink. Finally, it was down to the last member of the ruling council. Jor-El stood with a solemn look on his face as he listened to each verdict. Finally, it was down to him.

"_What is your verdict, Jor-El?"_ the head of the council asked him.

"May I speak with the prisoner before I make my decision?" Jor-El asked.

"_You may."_

Jor-El dismounted his platform and walked to the prisoner. Jor-El stopped and looked at him, face to face. There was no more than six inches between them as Jor-El stood. Zod still did not move or speak. All he did was cast his gaze downward.

"Talk to me, Zod. For God's sake, this is your life on the line. Tell me there was a reason for all of this. All this madness you've created, and the senseless chaos." Jor-El pleaded, but received nothing. "Zod, we've known each other since we were children. You're the Godfather to my child, say something to me. Why?"

That's when Zod looked up and cast a cold stare straight at his old friend. "You know why I did this." Zod said to him.

Jor-El looked to the floor and let out the breath he had been holding. He looked back up with his face filled with nothing but sadness.

"You alone can condemn me if you wish. But you alone will be held responsible by me." Zod said to him in an even tone. "Join me, Jor-El." Zod said to him.

"You know why I can't." Jor-El said to him.

"You've been known to disagree with the council before, Jor-El. Your voice would have a place in the new order, second to my own." Zod said.

"No."

"I'm offering you a chance at greatness, Jor-El. At immortality. TAKE IT!" Zod shouted.

"I'm sorry, Zod." Jor-El said as he returned to the platform. Jor-El took another deep breath before he finally said, "Guilty."

"No matter what it takes, you _will_ kneel before me." Zod said as the holograms disappeared and Jor-El began to leave. Even though they considered it humane, he couldn't stand to watch it. "Send my regards to Zor-El for me." Zod said with a smirk.

"What?" Jor-El asked as he turned.

That's when the spinning rings around Zod began to spin faster and faster as the shackles came undone. The rings were glowing brighter as they gained speed. Soon, Zod's face was grimacing with pain. A few agonized grunts were escaping his throat as the rings spun. Sparks of energy began to rise from the glowing rings and strike Zod. Each strike was growing fiercer every time.

Soon, a web of energy began to strike Zod all at once, causing him to scream in agonizing pain. Soon, his face, his body, his entire body began to shift and transform. Parts of him looked like it was starting to disintegrate and come together at the last minute. As Zod's shouts continued to worsen, his voice began to alter. Soon, his screams became stranger. Instead of a man in pain, they sounded like a strange moan. Zod's entire body disintegrated and became a swirling mass as the energy continued to strike. The mass began to glow and was soon reformed into a mass of energy in the shape of a humanoid. The energy stopped and rings disappeared, and vortex opened above the energy; above the newly formed phantom. Another strange moan came from the being again as the vortex pulled him in. After a brief explosion of light, a glass diamond began to float off into the sky and into space beyond.

"Why send regards to Zor-El?" Jor-El asked himself as he exited the dome.

* * *

The young woman woke from her sleep as the sounds of crying began to echo through her room. A small smile crossed her face as she brushed a lock of red hair from her eyes. After a small yawn and stretched her resting muscles, she reluctantly left the warmth of her bed and ventured down the hall into the newly crafted room. There, laying in her crib was the young infant that was crying for the touch of her parents. The young woman smiled again as she lifted the small baby into her arms and gently sang to her. The infant stopped its crying and rested its small head against the crook of her mother's arms. 

"So much like your father." The woman said with a laugh as she exited the nursery. As she walked by her room, she noticed that her husband's side of the bed was empty and undisturbed. Hadn't he come home to bed last night? For the past several weeks, he had done nothing but work in his laboratory day and night. She never knew her husband to act in such a way before.

Concerned for her husband's health, she ventured down the hallway until she came to the door that safeguarded her husbands work. What was surprising was that the door didn't open. Whenever it was just them, the door would open when anyone walked to it. This time, it looked to be locked.

"Jor-El?" she called, but received no answer.

She knocked on the metal door, calling for him again. There was still no answer. Worry starting to weigh on her mind, she typed in the access code to the locked, and received quite a shock. There was her husband at the console, running hologram projections of what looked to be various courses through different sectors of the known galaxy. But it was the state her husband was in that had given her the shock.

His hair hadn't been washed in days and was a mess. His face was unshaven, and the beard that was growing was halfway to completion. He only wore his navy blue bodysuit, with his green cape and house symbol tossed over a chair. The Kryptonian's took great pride in their house seals. She herself wore both the symbol for the House of El, and her families crest with her clothes. To merely toss it aside was an insult and disrespectful to your family's heritage.

"Jor-El, what are you doing?" Lara asked as she walked to him.

"My brother." Jor-El mumbled.

"What of Zor-El?" she asked.

"Lara, what do you know of my brother?" Jor-El asked her.

"He was my friend years earlier. I remember he grew upset when he discovered we were engaged." Lara said.

"He was obsessed with you, Lara. Even with his own wife and child, he still is. The bastard!" Jor-El cursed as he pounded the console.

"Jor-El, what's wrong?" she asked. She knew the brothers of El had bad feelings between them before, but not enough to make her husband curse his name as he did.

"Zor-El, my _brother_. He's one of Zod's followers." Jor-El told his wife.

"That's impossible."

"No, it isn't." Jor-El said as he stood and retrieved his cape and crest. "The day Zod was condemned to the Phantom Zone, he said to give his regards to Zor-El. When I went to ask my brother about it, I saw him accessing Brainiac's mainframe." Jor-El said.

"What was he doing?" Lara asked him.

"Zod's last wishes. After I beat the information out of him, I still can't believe my brother would do such a thing." Jor-El said as he leaned against one of the giant windows of their home. He had to do his best not to weep when he felt his wife place a comforting hand on his shoulder. "He's reprogrammed Brainiac. Lara, within a few days, maybe even hours, Brainiac will destroy Krypton." Jor-El told her.

"No. T-that can't be true."

"It is, Lara. I accessed the mainframe myself. I tried to stop the programming. I tried to undo what my brother had done, but he inserted an encryption code of Zod's design into it. I couldn't do anything." Jor-El said.

"Why would he do that?" Lara asked herself.

"For you, Lara. He thought Zod would take control, and he would have you. With Zod imprisoned, he's decided that no one will have you." Jor-El told her.

"Then we have to go to the council. They can,"

"I already did. They didn't believe me. They assured me that the Brain Interactive Construct couldn't be programmed like I had said. I even showed them proof, and my escape plan for Krypton. They laughed at me and called me mad. They wouldn't hear any of my accusations. The fools have doomed us all." Jor-El said.

"My God. W-what are w-we going to do?" Lara asked as tears filled her eyes.

"Since the council destroyed the Star Gates during the Zod's Civil War, I've thought of another way." Jor-El said as he walked back to his console and typed in a few commands.

A small ship began to rise out of the floor. A small hum came from the machine as the power source came on-line and three glowing pylons extended from the craft.

"What is it?" Lara asked him.

"A lifeboat. I've installed my latest trans-warp drive prototype into it. With any luck, it should reach its destination within a matter of days. Maybe even months."

"Destination? Where would that be?" Lara asked him.

"To the third planet in the Sol system." Jor-El said to his wife, and did his best to avoid the look she was giving him.

"Earth? Jor-El, their still a primitive race. They've only now started exploring their own solar system."

"It's the only one out of two planets closest to us with a biosphere that can sustain us. Lara, it was either Earth or the Planet Zarnia, and I can't risk pushing the trans-warp drive any further than that. But if my reports are correct, a Kryptonian scientist has been living on Earth for several decades now." Jor-El said.

"The key word is should, Jor-El. How would we live? We know nearly nothing about the humans." Lara said.

"No, I've planned ahead." Jor-El said and retrieved a green crystal from his work station. "This crystal is programmed to form a structure to support Kryptonian life. It will build everything a Kryptonian would need to live on Earth." Jor-El said.

"And this is your plan? For us to flee and live on Earth?" she asked him.

"No. The ship is only big enough for two passengers, and someone needs to stay here to program the coordinates and initiate the launch." Jor-El said as he looked down with a grim look on his face.

"No. Jor-El, I'm not leaving you." Lara told him.

"Lara, you and Kara are the only things that matter to me the most." Jor-El said to her.

"And I love you! I swore to stay by your side no matter what, and I meant it. I'm not leaving you." Lara said to him and looked at the sleeping infant in her arms. "She'll be different; not like them." Lara said as she brushed a lock of her daughter's red hair aside.

"The radiation of their yellow sun will giver her great abilities. She will be stronger than they are. Maybe she will even find someone to love." Jor-El said as he held his child's hand as tears began to flow from his eyes.

"She'll be alone." Lara said as her tears fell onto her baby.

"No. She will never be alone. We'll record a message for her. The computers in the ship should have enough space for that much. We better hurry, we don't have much time." Jor-El said to his wife.

* * *

"Is it ready?" Lara asked as the sun began to set in the distance. 

"It is." Jor-El said with a very shaky breath.

Both were wearing their navy blue body suits as they took one last look at their daughter. Jor-El was able to find the timer Brainiac was using, and predicted when it would attack their home. Jor-El went to find his brother one last time, but had discovered that he had fled with his family to their colony on the planet Argos. May God have mercy on that bastard for what he's done. They didn't have much time left, and knew it was now or never to save their daughter's life.

"Will she be warm enough?" Jor-El asked his wife.

"Yes. Her blanket is your family tapestry. I thought it was fitting. I also included the hologram of our planet's history with her." Lara said, remembering the tablet she had placed in the vessel earlier.

"Why? The language will be dead, she will never understand it." Jor-El said.

"But it will tell her of her heritage. She will at least know how we lived and what we ar- what we were." Lara said as more tears began to run down her face again.

Lara leaned down and kissed her daughter on her forehead, a few trembling sobs escaping her as she did so. Jor-El placed a comforting arm around his wife's shoulders as he gently stroked the infants head. He didn't want to admit it; didn't want to think it. But he couldn't avoid it. This would be the last time they would ever see their little girl ever again. He gently took the sleeping infant from his wife's arm before holding her close to him. One more farewell hug before slowly and carefully placed her into the waiting ship. Both stood back as the infant watched them with a curious gaze. Her emerald eyes were looking at both of them with wonderment, as both of them were shedding tears uncontrollably. She was looking at the both of them with her father's eyes. The hardest thing any loving parent could ever do was to say goodbye to their child.

"You will travel far, my little Kara. But we will never leave you. Even in the face of our deaths," Jor-El paused as he tried to regain his composure. "the richness of our lives shall be yours. All that I have, all that we've learned, everything we feel. All of this and more, I – I bequeath to you." Jor-El said to his daughter as he held his wife in his arms.

"You will carry us inside you all the days of your life. You will make our strength your own. You will see our life through your eyes as your life will be seen through ours. The daughter becomes the mother, and the mother – the daughter." Lara said, remembering the phrase her own mother had told her on her wedding day.

"This is all we can send you. My little Kara Jor-El." Jor-El said as he held his wife tightly as more tears and sobs began to escape from both himself and her.

Slowly, the couple walked to the control panel as the sun set over the ocean. Jor-El typed in the command codes, and the hatch to the ship closed on the infant girl as a faint hiss escaped. The ship was now sealed closed and oxygen began to be pumped into the cockpit. Within a few minutes, a slight frost formed on the hatch's viewing screen as the stasis controls became active.

"Lara, there's still time. All I have to do is recalibrate the controls for your weight,"

"No, Jor-El. My place is with you." Lara said, silencing any further objections.

Lara turned back to the ship and watched as the platform it was on raised the ship to a ninety-degree angle as the pylons came to life. The roof of Jor-El's lab opened to grant the ship access to the skies above as the humming of the ship's power core became louder. With one final keystroke, the thrusters of the ship came to life with a loud roar. The ship launched into the night sky, leaving a faint smoke trail to show its path.

"We'll she make it?" Lara asked her husband as he held her again.

"It's already cleared the mountain range. The stasis and life support power cells have a life span of one-hundred and fifty years, which is more than enough. She'll make it." Jor-El said to his wife.

"What if the people that find her hurt her? Or what if they don't love her?" Lara asked.

"We can only pray, Lara. Any fate our daughter has will be better than ours." Jor-El said as the ship disappeared. Both held each other in a tight embrace, trying to comfort each other in a reassuring embrace. "I love you, Lara."

"And I love you, Jor-El." Lara said to him before their lips met for one last kiss.

* * *

In the heavens above the emerald planet, the small ship flew with a speed unlike any other vessel before it. Once it reached the orbit of the planet's first moon, the glowing pylons extended and began to power up. Behind the vessel, another object began to flee from the gravity of the same world. It was larger than the first vessel, and had a pentagonal shape of a diamond. Its black polished surface seemed to reflect the stars around it. The ship paused for a moment as it achieved orbit, like it was taking one last look at the planet below. Several transmissions began to emit from the ship to the several satellites that were in orbit of the world. After that, it turned and began to speed away from the world as each satellite began to come online. 

From the world below, a massive beam of energy rose from the planet and hit one of the active satellites. The energy beam was then deflected to all the remaining satellites. When both beams collided with the last satellite, each fired the energy back onto the world below. This continued until small eruptions began appear all over the surface of the planet. Several of the continents were beginning to split and crack as the energy pierced through the planet. Within a matter of minutes; the once brilliant world of Krypton, the home to thousands of lives and advanced technology, shattered in space with a mighty explosion. Glowing fragments started to sweep past both vessels, coming within meters of colliding with either of them.

With a burst of thrust and a small explosion of light, the smaller craft sped its way to Earth and pulled several fragments with it. The other ship's propulsion began to come online and began to make its way to the nearest Kryptonian colony. Its destination was the city of Kandor while it left what was now a graveyard.

* * *

The planet Earth, three years later.

Newly appointed Dr. Anne Possible sat on the porch of the cottage she and her husband were using near the Colorado Rockies. It was the same cabin they had stayed in on their honeymoon, and it was where they were celebrating their promotions in both their fields of expertise. Anne had just been given a full residency at Middleton General while her husband had just been assigned to the Middleton Space Center. The space center was working on the latest in not just rockets, but in the fields of various robotics that would help them explore the planets that humans couldn't go.

She sighed as she looked at the stars above. She was happy for the both of them, and couldn't wait to start. But there was one thing that was still weighing heavily on her mind. She sipped the hot chocolate she brought with her as she tried to think of other things. As if by magic, her husband soon joined her on the porch swing she was sitting on. She just smiled as kissed her on her cheek.

"I missed you." He said to her.

"I've only been gone a few minutes." She told him as she brushed a lock of red hair behind her ear.

"It was still too long." He said as she leaned against him. "It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" he asked her.

"It is." She answered as her mind began to drift again.

"What are you thinking about?" James asked her.

"Just – do you think it will ever happen?" she asked him.

"Honey, we just need some time." He said to her.

"James, it was my third miscarriage. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to put together the obvious." She said to him as she felt guilt begin to weigh on her heart.

"Anne, that doesn't mean we can't have children." He said to her.

"Maybe we just weren't meant to be parents." She said to him.

"Don't say that Anne. I want to have kids just as much as you do." James said as he gently stroked her hair.

"But why did this happen? I was doing everything right. I avoided stress, I ate right, and I made all my check ups. Why did we loose her?" Anne asked her husband again.

"I wish I knew, Anne. I wish I knew." He said with a sigh.

"Sometimes, I just wish we could have some sort of sign." Anne said as she sat up and looked at the evening sky again.

She and James had been trying for so long to have children. It was one of her dreams to have children; to have her own family. She already had two other pregnancies. Both had miscarried and didn't make it past the first trimester. Her last pregnancy actually looked like everything was going well. It looked like her dreams would finally come true. It almost crushed her spirit when she lost the baby in her fifth month. It actually seemed like God didn't want her to have children. What had she been doing wrong?

As she looked to the stars, she kept asking why again and again. That's when she saw something flying across the sky. A brief smile came to her face as she saw it, remembering the last time she had seen a shooting star was when she was a little girl.

"Maybe I'll make a wish on that shooting star." She said to her husband and pointed to the object in the heavens.

James smiled at his wife as he took a look. His smile soon became a very puzzled look as he took a good look at the shooting star.

"That isn't a shooting star. It's too close." He said.

"Then what is it?" Anne asked him.

"I'm not sure." James said as his eyes began to widen. "Whatever it is, it's coming this way!" James said.

"Do what?"

"Anne, get to the car!" James shouted to her.

Anne dropped her cup of hot cocoa as she and her husband both made a mad dash to the blue Nissan that sat parked not too far from the cabin, forgetting both were only wearing T-shirts. Both tried to open the car, repeatedly pulling at the doors that wouldn't budge. It was James that realized why.

"I left the keys in the cabin!" James shouted.

"DUCK!" Anne screamed as she saw the fiery object flying towards them.

Both hit the dirt and covered their heads with their arms as the object zoomed right past them, leaving a large smoke trail in its wake. Both coughed as the smoked began to clear and looked in the direction the thing had flown. A loud splash was heard as a large plum of steam began to rise in the distance.

"What happened?" Anne asked.

"It looks like it landed in the lake. I'm going to go check it out." James said.

"Not without me your not." Anne told him.

"Honey, a meteor just crashed to Earth. Who knows what will happen." he said as they walked back into the cabin and began to pull a pair of pants on.

"Exactly. I've got to make sure you don't do anything stupid." Anne said to him.

The drive didn't take that much time. James stopped the car as they came to a large hill that had a large oak tree sitting at the top. Over the hill would be the lake that was frequently used as a swimming hole. James exited the car and took out the large flashlight as Anne stood beside him.

"Have you ever seen one of these before?" Anne asked him.

"In a lab and in a museum. But I've never seen one right after it landed." James said as they began to climb the steep hill.

"The lake is pretty deep, James. Are you sure will be able to find it?" Anne asked him as they reached the top.

"Anne, I don't think that's going to be a problem" James said as he saw what was sitting in the lake below them.

"Oh my God." Anne said as she saw it.

A long silver object sat in the lake with three strange long objects attached to it that were glowing a faint blue. James didn't know what it was until his flashlight saw the smoking thrusters at the end of it. It was a rocket! But, he had never seen a rocket of this strange design before. There were several symbols engraved into its sides, but he didn't recognize them. If he didn't know any better, he could have sworn that it was almost an alien design.

"I don't believe it." James said as they slowly walked toward it.

"What is it?" Anne asked.

"I-it's a rocket. But this isn't like anything that's ever been made." James said.

"What's it doing here?" Anne asked.

"That's a good question." James said.

Both of them jumped back when a strange cylinder rose from the strange ship, and emitted a wide beam of blue light. When the light passed over Anne and James, it seemed to freeze. The strange light passed over them two more times before beeping and the light cut off. As the cylinder retracted, a loud hiss sounded as the front of the ship began to slowly open with a strange mist escaped from it and into the air.

"What did we do?" Anne asked as the hatch finished opening.

"I don't think we did anything. It must have been a scanner or a motion sensor." James said. "Wait, did you hear that?" James said and listened.

Anne couldn't hear anything at first except the sounds of crickets chirping in the night. That's when she heard it. To her, it echoed through her ears like a thunderclap. It was the sound of crying. Not just any cry, but that of a baby! Pure instinct took over as she ran to the object and the open hatch. She shrugged off the ice cold water as soon as it hit her skin and walked through the water as fast as she could.

"ANNE! GET AWAY FROM THAT THING! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT'S IN IT!" James shouted.

"JAMES, COME HERE QUICK!" Anne shouted to him.

Shaking his head, he began making his way to his wife.

"Anne, you never do something like that. For all we know, that thing could be leaking radiation. Or it may have something dangerous in it like a – a – is that what I think it is?" James asked when he got to the shoreline, and saw his wife turn to him with a bundle in her arms.

"James, it's a baby!" Anne said as she made her way back, unable to believe what she had found. "What kind of monster would put a defenseless baby in a rocket?" Anne said as she made it to the shoreline and joined her husband.

"I don't know. This is – I don't what this is." James said as he looked at the infant in her arms as she checked to make sure the blanket it was wrapped in was dry. "It's a girl. She sure is a cute little thing." James said as he tickled her chin, and felt her grasp his finger. "Strong too." James said.

The little child pushed the tip of his finger upward, and the sound of a crack was heard as the bone started to break. As James retracted his now sore finger, the infant giggled at his strange actions.

"I think she likes you." Anne said as she cradled the little girl close to her. Her smile broadened as she saw the child try to grasp her.

"Wait a minute; I know that look." James said.

"We're the only ones that know about my miscarriage. By the time we get back, we can say we were off by a few months." Anne said to him.

"Anne." James said to her.

"James Timothy Possible, I don't care what you say. I'm not letting the monster that put that child in that thing have her back. No child deserves something like that." Anne said as she stroked the infants red hair. James knew better than to argue with his wife when she made up her mind about something. Especially when she made sense. No advancement in science was worth putting an innocent child in danger.

"So what are we going to name her?" James asked her.

"I always liked the name Kimberly." Anne said.

"Okay then. Welcome to the world, Kimberly Anne Possible." James said to his new daughter.

* * *

In the stars above, several pieces of planetary debris of various sizes began to come close to the blue planet known as Earth. Each piece had been brought to the planet in the wake of a Tans-Warp propulsion system. Now that they were out of the wake, they were being pulled into the planet's atmosphere. A large piece, glowing with a green inner light, began making its way to the planet below. If it had been left alone, it would have fallen harmlessly into the ocean. But it seemed that fate had a different plan. Just as it began to meet the heat of re-entry, a large rogue comet began to streak pass and collided into the glowing chunk of rock in a mighty explosion. 

The two chunks of space debris were now molded into one as the various radiations began to blend. From the force of the explosion, the newly made rock had now altered course as it fell through the burning atmosphere. Its speed increased as gravity took control of its decent as it blazed across the sky. There was no time for warning the public as the ground below began to come toward it faster and faster. In the span of a heartbeat, the rock collided into what was once a mighty oak tree old and completely destroyed the aged plant as well as itself.

Amid the large amount of various debris of tree and asteroid, the remains of the tree house that had once sat amongst the tree's branches were also scattered about. Splinters of oak and 2x4's were scattered all over the yard. Amid the vast field of destruction, five children were laying unconscious underneath the debris. All of them didn't know what had hit them, nor did they know they were being exposed to the radiation of the various rocks. The small girl that was near what used to be the tree's trunk opened her eyes briefly and saw the green meteorite that was glowing with its own inner light. She felt strange as she looked at it. It was like she had a stomach ache, but it felt like it was going straight to her head. She moaned a few more times before she blacked out again as her body slowly began to change from her exposure to the strange debris.

* * *

Kim Possible is property of Disney, and Superman is property of DC Comics and Warner Bros. I do not work with either and did this for fun. 


	2. Discoveries

**Author's Note(s):** Sorry if I left a few holes in the first chapter. I thought I had thought things through, and I guessed I didn't. I tried todo better with this one. I'm going to try and keep it close to normal Kim, but also her trying to dela with her abilities. Sorry for anymore holes in this. I hope you enjoy.

* * *

Invincible

By FAH3

"_You will see our life through your eyes as your life will be seen through ours. The daughter becomes the mother, and the mother – the daughter."_

"_This is all we can send you.__ Lara, there's still time. All I have to do is recalibrate the controls for your weight,"_

"_No, Jor-El. My place is with you."_

There were so many images that were somehow blurred together. She could still see the two figures watching over her, like two guardian angels keeping a constant vigil. She knew they cared for her deeply, she could somehow feel it coming from them as they watched her. But something was wrong. She couldn't see their faces though, something was in the way. What was wrong? Why weren't they holding her anymore? She always felt so safe in there arms.

That's when it grew dark and cold. Everything else was so strange after that. She could feel the weight of sleep being forced on her. She fought it though. She was scared of the dark. Where were the angels? The dark soon gave way to the light again, but with strange lines and pictures flashing in front of her as she watched the two angles stay in their place. What were they doing?

Now, she was flying. The clouds were flying past her as the pink and orange sky grew darker and darker. The blanket of night was now all around her and she could see the stars in front of her. She was with the stars that captured her interest so much. Where were her angels though? She couldn't see them. She needed them. She knew they wouldn't leave her alone like this. She looked up and down and all around her, but she only saw the night. Wait, what did she just see? There was something else in the night with. It was big. She found it again, off to the side. To her, it looked like a large green ball. Somehow, the sight before her put her at ease. Were her angels there? Why would they be so far away from her? Why would they send her away?

Something was wrong. The ball didn't look right anymore. Something bad was happening as the ball started to grow smaller. Before the ship flew her away, she saw the green ball shatter before her. In that instant before the ship went into warp, in that horrible moment, something in her broke. There was no explanation for it and she didn't understand how she knew. She didn't want to understand it, but she knew. Her angels weren't there anymore. They were gone.

She began to cry as the pain of losing them filled her. How could they not be there anymore? Why would they send her away and leave if they loved her so much? Why? She wanted her angels back. She wanted their love, their embrace again. Bring them back! Someone bring them back! She wanted the one that had hair like hers. The lady angel was the one that she felt the love for her the most. Every time she sang to her or spoke to her, all the bad feelings and loneliness would leave her. She wanted Lara. She wanted Lara.

"LARA! LARA!" the little girl screamed as she sat up in her bed as the tears ran down her face.

She just sat there, crying more and more as she felt nothing but cold air brush against her. She didn't know where she was. She couldn't see anything in the dark that was around her, and she hated it. She realized that she was alone. That there wasn't anyone there to help her, or to hold her.

"KP? You okay?" the small boy asked as he sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he turned on his bed side lamp.

"Ron?" she asked when she saw his chocolate brown eyes looking at him. "RON!" she cried as she held onto the boy tightly, not wanting to let him go.

As he returned the hug, she began to remember where she was. She was spending the night with her best friend, Ron Stoppable. They had met in Pre-K when he tried to help her. Three older kids had started to tease her, but they turned on Ron as soon as he tried to help her. Kim couldn't just stand there and let her rescuer be beaten up by a bunch of brats. She didn't know how she had been able to fend them off; she couldn't even remember all the details of what happened next. But it was like she had boundless energy. Every time one of them tried to hit her, she could almost swear they were moving slowly.

The stranger part of their ordeal was when she hit them. She wasn't trying to hurt them, but they were acting like she had hit them with a rock. She had kicked one boy in the leg and he started crying like a baby. The other tripped on his own shoe laces and fell, but the last one actually tried to tackle both her and Ron. When she punched him in the nose, he actually ran away screaming. The ordeal didn't go unnoticed though. One of the teachers had watched the whole thing and sent all of them to the office.

When she and Ron were sent to the principle's office, she found out that she had broken the older boy's nose. They weren't there long, though. They found it hard to believe that a child of Kim's age had actually punched a boy in the second grade hard enough to break his nose, no matter how much he protested. Since that day, she and Ron were the best of friends.

That day had been four years ago. They were in the third grade now. Every Friday night after that, one would spend the night at the other's home so they could spend the weekend playing together. But things had been changing. She was getting so much stronger than everyone else. She also noticed that she was starting to become faster than everyone. If she really pushed herself, sometimes it seemed like everyone and everything around her seemed to be slowing to almost a crawl. But that wasn't the bad part of it. She had been having nightmares.

The nightmares were always different. Some of the nightmares would be where she was alone in space, some of large glowing green rocks that were making her sick, or of a man with a scowl and a large Z on his chest. There were some nights were she suffered from the nightmare she had just had. She didn't know who the two people were in her dreams. She couldn't see their faces at all, but it felt like her heart was being crushed to pieces every time she felt them leave her. Did she know them? Who were they? And who was Lara? All she could do was cry into her friend's shoulder as the feelings that had forced their way free refused to leave. Ron didn't move though. He knew she was upset, and he wouldn't leave her. He couldn't stand to not help someone who was in pain.

When she had cried out all of her tears, she looked at her friend in the eyes.

"I'm sorry, Ron." She said as she sniffed.

"It's okay. Was it another nightmare?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, it was." She said to him. Ron was the only one she trusted enough to tell him about her dreams.

"Maybe you should talk to your mom and dad."

"No, Ron. I couldn't."

"Why? I always talk to my mom and dad about some of my bad dreams and they usually help me get rid of them." Ron said to her.

"But your nightmares are about your summer at camp, Ron. There's no explanation needed there." Kim said to him.

"Camp Wannaweep. I still remember that blood thirsty monster they locked up me with. That place was a mad house, KP. A mad house!" Ron said as he held his knees close to his chest and began to shiver.

Spending several days with an untrained chimpanzee that had been purchased from a closing zoo could do a lot to a young man. One of the side effects from his ordeal included the fact that the experience had ingrained Ron with a severe phobia of every single kind ape or monkey that walked on the planet Earth.

"I just don't want mom and dad to worry about me, Ron. They have enough to deal with already." Kim said to her best friend as she laid herself down in his bed again.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked as he also placed his head back on his pillow.

"It turns are Jim and Tim are most likely prodigies."

"Huh?"

"They're already smarter than everyone else. As in the kind of smart daddy is."

"Wow." Ron said.

"Not to mention mom being a brain surgeon and dad getting promoted at the space center. They already worry about me too much Ron, and I don't want to add to it." Kim said.

"Kim, it was just a bad dream. Why would they worry about that?" Ron said as sleep started to take over again.

"Well, there's everything else I can do." Kim said to him.

"KP, mom always says people are just born being good at certain things. You're just good at running is all." Ron said as he yawned. Against her parent's wishes, Kim had told Ron about her speed and strength.

"You're probably right. What are the odds that something weird is going to happen to me?" Kim asked herself as she went back to sleep.

* * *

All of them were huddled together in the cramped waiting room. This was a day none of them were looking forward to. Especially the young woman as she brushed her raven black hair from her eyes. Ever since the day that meteor crashed, things were just going from bad to worse. Their father had died in a car crash before that damn rock from space hit, and now their mother was dying. The pain from this whole ordeal was almost unbearable because the doctors just didn't know what was wrong with her. Each offered to give blood, donate an organ or marrow; but it was no use. Because their DNA had been fundamentally altered in such a drastic way, a donation might do more harm than good. 

They had learned to control all of their abilities by now, and were doing their best to hide them from the public. But it was just so hard. It was almost harder with the young woman. On nights she had nightmares, she would wake up to find her bed on fire from her abilities. She didn't know what was worse. Her sitting in a burning bed or having to deal with so many at school. So many were students were so scared of her; and most of them always called her a freak. Even the football team thought it was a laugh to tag their house, telling their family that they weren't wanted. They even received death threats. Death threats! Just because they were different now! It wasn't even their fault! They didn't even have a choice!

They had the police look into some of the notes that were death threats, and received a very disturbing surprise. It turned out that most of them were coming from a priest. What made it sickening was that it was the preacher that had baptized them all when they were infants. How could such a kind old man, a man who swore to do God's work and help others; would want to do harm to them? To people he had known all their lives. When they questioned him, he said he didn't want to hurt them. He just wanted them to leave, that they weren't natural anymore. They were monsters, an abomination.

With the weight and stress of their mother dying, and the stress from being hassled by so many people at school and other people, she was just about ready to snap. She almost did. With al the self-defense classes she had been taking, she almost beat the living piss out of one of the cheerleaders. She hated them with a passion, and how they thought they were above everyone else. She quickly tried to calm herself down as she popped every one of her knuckles. Being mad at the world wasn't going to help anyone right now. When the door to the waiting room opened, all of them held their breath when they saw their mother's doctor walk in.

"How is she, doctor?" her older brother asked as he ran a hand through his dark blue hair.

"We've finally figured out what was wrong with her. It's radiation poisoning." The doctor told them.

"Radiation? How can that be? Go City doesn't have a nuclear plant or dump sites anywhere." The second eldest said.

"It's nothing like that. From what we can tell, her condition was caused by a prolonged exposure."

"Prolonged?" her youngest brothers asked as a terrifying thought started to enter their minds.

"Could it have been one of us? I mean, we glow whenever we use our powers." their sister asked, fearing the answer she might receive.

"I doubt it. I've gone over your medical records since the accident, and it looks like your powers are harmless." The doctor said, causing the siblings to out a sigh of relief..

"Can we see her?" the twin brothers asked, wanting to be close to their mother.

"You can visit her one at a time. She's very weak, and we've had to give her a lot of medication for the pain." The doctor said.

"We'll let the twins go first." The older brother said as the youngest of the bunch quickly left the room.

"When can she go home?" the sister asked as she joined her two older brothers. She hated hospitals and didn't want to be here for much longer. When the doctor didn't answer immediately, their anxiousness began to grow.

"I'm afraid she doesn't have that much longer. Frankly, I doubt she'll make it through the night." The doctor said.

The silence was almost defining as the words echoed and embedded themselves into their minds. That had a suspicion that this was coming. But no matter how hard they tried to mentally prepare themselves, it was still very difficult for their fears to be confirmed.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" the second oldest asked.

"I'm sorry. All we can do is to try and make her comfortable. Do you have family you can stay with?" the doctor asked, remembering that their mother was the only person they had.

"Mom already took care of the paperwork. S-she made sure I was declared my sibling's legal guardian." The oldest said.

"What about college?" his sister asked him.

"I'm transferring back home. I'll finish everything at Go City University. Metropolis wasn't that great, anyway." Her brother said, but she could tell he was lying through his teeth. He always did that so they wouldn't get depressed about something.

"Sis? Mom wants to see you." Her younger brothers said as they returned to the waiting room. She looked to her brother's to see if they wanted to go a head of her, but saw her brothers only nod to let her know it was okay. "We'll show you the way." Her younger brothers said as they took her by the hand.

As they stepped out of the room, she listened to the conversation with the doctor a little more. She didn't want to be left out of the loop if there was something important she needed to know.

"I also have to let you know that I called the CDC about your mother. They searched your home and they think they found what was emitting the radiation."

"What was it?" her eldest brother asked.

"It was a strange green rock. They almost didn't find it because the levels of radiation it was emitting were low. It was buried not too far from your home in a flower bed. We hypothesize that it might be a chunk of the meteor that struck your home." The doctor said.

Their voices grew fainter and fainter until she couldn't hear them anymore. That damn rock once again ruined their lives. The first time was crashing into them and turning them into these freaks of nature that everyone hated, and now it was taking their mother away. A few tears were falling down her face as she made her way to her mother's room. She had to treasure the few moments she had left with her. Once she was gone, she would have to make herself stronger. In that moment, she promised she would never cry again. If she couldn't make that rock pay for what it had done, then she would find something else to take its place instead. She would let everyone know that she wasn't some freak.

_

* * *

Six Years Later._

Kim sat on the curb and continued to look at her hands. Every so often, she would ball them into a fist and unclench them. It was still so strange to her with all the recent events that had happened to her. How was it even possible? All her life, she thought she was just your average girl. Maybe she's not so average anymore. No one else she knew could do what she did. This was just so strange. Of course, normal wasn't really in her vocabulary.

When she and her friend Ron entered Middle School, she had decided to put an ad on the internet to earn her more business with babysitting. That all changed when the world's most renowned collector of Cuddle Buddies sent her a message. She ended up saving him from a new security device he had installed to protect his collection. When word caught on of what she did, she was soon getting hits to baby-sit and help other people. In fact, she had saved a young computer genius on of her 'missions' and he told her he would help manage her site in return.

That had actually worked out pretty well. They were good friends, and he also turned out to be an inventor. He had created several inventions for her and Ron that ended up saving the day several times. She had to admit, but it was nice having a techno genius as a friend. She had to think of a way to thank him one day.

Ever since Wade joined, their missions had been growing on a grander scale. Now, halfway through her freshman year in High school, she was jetting around the world to save villagers and stop mad scientists. It was the mad scientists that gave her a headache; especially one in particular. Drew Lipski, a.k.a. Dr. Drakken. She found out the hard way that he was once one of her father's friends in college, but dropped out when his inventions were laughed at. Now he was a mad scientists bent on ruling the world. Of course, that was once thing that was bothering her as well. It was also the reason why she kept looking down at her hands as she waited for Ron.

"Morning, KP." Ron said in his usual cheerful mood.

"Morning, Ron." Kim said as she stood and brushed a few blades of her blue jeans.

"Man, that mission yesterday had me a little worried." Ron said.

"Really? Was it the part where you were running around, screaming that my sidekick was in trouble? Or was it the part where all you had to do was hit the self destruct device in Drakken's lair?" She asked with a sly smile.

"Hey, it isn't my fault he makes all the buttons look alike. It's hard trying to press the right one." Ron said, trying to defend himself.

"So the label on the panel that said 'Self Destruct. Do Not Touch' didn't help?" Kim asked him, and earning a bought of laughter from the inside of Ron's pocket.

"Traitor." Ron said as he looked into his pocket at the naked mole rat inside. As he looked back at his friend, he noticed the troubled look on her face. "KP, are you all right?"

"It's just something I've been thinking about." Kim said.

"You want to talk about it?" Ron asked her.

"I don't know. It's just – remember that mission you were talking about?" Kim asked him.

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember that bomb I found?" she asked him.

Drakken had tried to create a bomb that could destroy a city block without killing anyone. Unfortunately, like with most of his inventions, he had done something wrong and had made it a full scale bomb. When they arrived to stop him, the idiot had accidentally hit the button that armed it.

"I remember you tossed it out the window before it blew. I was so scared you had gotten hurt when it went off." Ron said as he grimaced at the memory.

He saw Kim fly out of the window like a rag doll and hit the floor with such a loud thud, he was sure that Kim had been killed. She was lucky that the only thing that had been damaged was her mission gear.

"That's the problem, Ron." Kim said.

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't throw it out the window in time. It blew up while I was still holding it." Kim confessed as she bit her lower lip.

"Kim, that's just impossible. If you were still holding that thing, y-you wouldn't have any hands. Heck, you wouldn't have any arms or anything." Ron said to her. She wouldn't be in front of him right now if that bomb blew while she was still holding it.

"I know, Ron. But that's what happened. And look at me. I'm not burned, I don't have a scratch. Ron, I didn't even break a nail." Kim said to him. "It's been like this for a while now." Kim said.

"For a while?" Ron asked her.

"Ron, isn't it odd that on all the missions we go on, I don't have a scratch on me? From all the henchmen we've fought, and everything we've done, I've never even gotten a bruise. Ron, I think something's wrong with me." Kim said.

Ron was about to make a remark at what she had just said, but he could see it was really upsetting her. He knew better than to try and open his mouth whenever she was like this. Instead of saying anything, he just held her in a firm hug. He never knew why, but this always helped her. Since they had known each other, it was like giving her a hug melted her problems away. He wasn't that smart, but a part of his brain thought that she kept hugging them so she wouldn't loose them. At least, that's what she had told him when they were smaller. When she first started having those bad dreams. Ron broke the embrace and took a good look at her. He could clearly see she was still a little upset. He wished he knew what to do took make her feel better.

"Do you feel better?" Ron asked her.

"I don't know. I'm – I'm going to go for a walk." Kim said.

"KP, you're going to skip school?" Ron asked in complete shock. Kim had a good heart and followed the rules. Hearing that her friend was going to skip school? Now he knew she was really stressing over this. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No. I just need to clear my head. If anyone asks – just tell them I went on a solo mission." Kim said as she turned and began to walk away.

"Kim, wait!" Ron called, but saw her form take off in a blur as she began to run.

He knew she could most likely run faster than a speeding bullet now, but not getting hurt from an exploding bomb? Ron glanced at Middleton High and saw that they had walked most of the way. There was a strong war of emotions going on inside of him. His parents saw Kim as a daughter they never had, and agreed to let him go on her missions. But if he ditched? Reaching into his other pocket, he took out a slim device that was painted a sky blue. With the touch of a button, a familiar face filled the screen.

"Wade, can you do me a favor?" he asked the young genius.

* * *

She exhaled a deep breath as she looked at herself in the mirror. She had just splashed a handful of cold water on her face to help her wake up and let her mind come to attention. She had finally done it. She was going to do what she wanted to do with her life without her brothers whinnying or pushing her around. Being a hero was never for her. She always had to act a certain way and didn't really get to be herself. Not to mention no matter what she did, her brothers got all the credit for it. Stupid, idiotic glory hogs. Anyway, working with her new employer should pay well. With a little investing here and there, she should have enough money to quit and find a better way for her to deal with – let's just say Kermit the frog was right when he said it wasn't easy being green. 

She had a few hours to kill before she had to leave for her new job. She actually had to be interviewed by this guy. She received an e-mail that gave her directions, and not much else. She might as well enjoy the last few hours of freedom before she had to create an alias and start looking over her shoulder. Wait, she had to do that with Global Justice almost all the time. So there was no real change there.

Of course, it would be a little weird at first. Her being on the opposite side of the law. Not to mention her friendship with Betty Spaghetti would probably be shot. Those were the breaks. She needed this new life. If she hadn't broken her ties from Team Go when she did, she would most likely be insane in the next few days. She dried her face and walked to the closet to find something to show she was sexy, but still dangerous. She loved being a tease sometimes. She found a pair of onyx jeans and a dark green tank top. When her ensemble was complete, she just smiled with satisfaction. The jeans looked like they were painted on, and the top was almost too small for her.

Before she left, she grabbed the small bottle that sat on the counter top. She popped the cap, and swallowed two of the pills that were inside. She quickly put the top back on and set them on the counter before she began to tremble. Her breath quickened as her muscles temporarily tensed and began to scream in pain. She held in the grunts she wanted to let out, or the screams of the massive muscle cramp her body was in. Soon, the pain began to ease away and her breathing slowed. She looked into the silver pot that hung above her stove and smiled when she saw her once pale green skin now looked a healthy pink.

She looked at the pill bottle and it contents before she let out a mild groan. When she first started taking this stuff a few years ago, it was a mild tingling feeling. Similar to the feeling she got when a limb went to sleep. But it gradually kept getting worse every time she took it. That meant her body was growing used to the drug and was trying to fight the change it brought on. If the drug didn't work anymore, she could say goodbye to the one way no one would really recognize her. She'd worry about that later. It was working right now, and that was enough.

Grabbing her wallet, she hated purses, and her keys, she made her way to the parked sports car outside. She knew she wouldn't drive it for a long time after she started working for this weirdo, so she might as well enjoy it. First stop though was the Middleton Mall. She heard it had a Club Banana, and she needed to do some shopping.

* * *

Kim stood on the small bridge overlooking the creek. She had always enjoyed coming here to think. The sounds of the water flowing and the crickets chirping seemed to relax her. Today, it had very little effect. What was happening with her? Both of her parents had given her the talk when she hit puberty and knew things about her would change. But in everything she had been told and read, there was nothing about her speed or her strength. She remembered when she and Ron were in kindergarten, they had been playing ball and it rolled under her mother's car. Instead of telling her parents, she just lifted the front end of the car up and grabbed the ball. Now her skin was getting tougher. 

She didn't know how to explain it. Her skin was still soft and looked normal, but how could it withstand a bomb explosion? She didn't know why she had done it, but she tried to cut her hand with one of her father's double edged razors. Nothing happened. When she pressed the razor harder against her skin, the razor actually broke! Kim would be lying if she said she wasn't scared. She was terrified. How did this happen? Was she exposed to something as a baby? Or was it something one of her enemies had created?

So many thoughts were racing through her mind at once that she felt like the Daytona 500 was in her skull. She looked into the water and saw the look on her face. If Bonnie saw the state she was in, she'd have a field day with the gossip chain. She hated the so called food chain of high school. It really didn't make any sense to her. She let out a deep sigh as she rested her head on her hands. Maybe her mother could help her out with this. She was a doctor after all.

"Hey, KP!" a voice called out to her.

Kim looked up from her resting place and saw Ron was walking toward her. Her eyes widened a little as she got ready to chew his butt out for skipping class. Wait, he was looking at her differently. Ron's face had paled as his eyes widened. It looked like he was trying to say something, but having trouble as he began to point. Why was he pointing at her? Did she have a bug on her?

"KP, LOOK OUT!" Ron shouted, realizing that he had been pointing behind her.

* * *

The drive was just what she needed to relax. She had her favorite CD playing and the window rolled down to let in the fresh breeze. She wasn't going the speed limit, but there weren't any cops around. She wanted to enjoy her freedom. Of course, there was a blind curve with a bridge not too far ahead. And right now, the last thing she wanted to do was to wreck her baby. She was the one that fine tuned this car and tricked it out. All lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into to it. 

She started to apply the breaks, but she noticed that the car didn't slow down. She pressed harder, but still nothing. She found herself stomping on the peddle as hard as she could, but the car was actually accelerating! Someone rigged her car! She looked up in time to see the blind curve coming up on her fast. She turned the wheel as sharp as she could and went into a slide. The spinning wheels kicked up a large mass of dirt and smoke, blinding her view as the car continued to charge down the pavement. When it cleared, she saw that she was heading to the bridge's railing. Her eyes went as wide as saucers when she saw that she was also fixing to hit a teenaged girl that was standing at the railing. She couldn't swerve out of the way in time, she was going to hit!

* * *

Time seemed to almost freeze as the car collided with both Kim and the railing. Everything in Ron stopped as he watched the event unfold. He swore that his heart exploded in his chest as he saw his best friend being pushed through the barrier of steel and concrete and into the water below. He couldn't move, he couldn't breath, he couldn't think or do anything. His brain had completely shut down from the sheer horror of what he had just seen. As the car began to sink deeper into the water, his brain somehow finally regained its functions as Ron ran to where his best friend had once been standing. 

"KIM!" he shouted as loud as he could as he fell to his knees and looked over the edge of the bridge.

All he saw were bubbles coming to the surface of the water. He couldn't even see any sign of the car anymore.

"Please Dear God, no." Ron said as he desperately searched his pockets and found the device he had been searching for. "WADE! GET AN AMBULANCE OUT HERE NOW! KIM'S BEEN HURT!" Ron screamed.

The black sports car slowly sank deeper and deeper into the murky waters of the small river as several fish swam away from the strange intruder. Everything almost seemed calm as the car touched down onto the muddy surface with a hard thud. The car shook as the front end sank itself firmly into the muddy ground, but the young woman inside didn't move. The car was beginning to quickly fill with water at an alarming rate. But she still didn't move. Not even as it reached passed her knees and submerged her hands and arms, she didn't move.

The car shifted as the muck of the river's ground began to shift and drift like an odd cloud. The car was placed on its axels as the windows cracked, allowing more of the water flow inside of it. With a force and strength that has only been imagined, the top of the car was ripped from its frame and peeled backwards; allowing its occupant to become completely submerged. The seat belt that held her in place was ripped from her body as if it were tissue paper as a pair of strong feminine hands grasped her by the waist, and lifted her to the surface above.

Kim breached the surface of the water, inhaling a deep breath of fresh air as she made sure to keep the other woman's head surfaced. She quickly swam her way to the shore, laying the woman on her back. She quickly noticed she wasn't breathing. Kim carefully placed both hands on her chest and began to press once, twice, four times. She then raised then woman's chin up before pushing a strong breath of oxygen into her lungs. The woman began coughing, spitting water out from her mouth. Kim quickly rolled her onto her side and patted her on the back, helping her push the excess water out. When she started to breath normally, she slowly pushed herself into a sitting position.

"W-what happened? How did I get here?" the woman asked as she saw where she was.

"I got you out of the car." Kim said to her.

When the woman turned to face her rescuer, she flinched like someone had just slapped her across the face. She blinked her eyes a few times before taking another look at the young woman.

"I could have sworn I hit you!" the woman said as she looked at the young girl in front of her.

"I know." Kim said as she looked back to the bridge and saw the gaping hole in the bridge railing. "I thought you did, too." She said as Ron saw both of them and began running toward them.

"KP!" Ron said as he slid next to her on the muddy shore. "What's broken? Can you see me?" Ron asked her.

"Ron,"

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Ron, I'm fine!" Kim said to him, trying to reassure him.

"YOU! What do you think you're doing speeding like that? Are you nuts?" Ron demanded the woman that Kim had just saved.

"Ron, would you just,"

"Did you just wake up and decide that you were going to try and hit someone?"

"I wasn't doing it on purpose." The woman said, interrupting Ron's tirade. "The brake line was cut." The woman said as she applied her hand on her forehead, right along her hairline. When she with drew her hand and looked at her open palm, she saw that there was splotch of blood on it.

"Your brakes were cut?" Ron asked her.

"Yeah. I tried stopping the car before I hit that curve, but it wouldn't slow down." She said and grimaced as blood began to run down her face. "Do any of you know a doctor?" she asked the two teens as she put her hand back on the laceration.

"You're in luck. My mom's a doctor." Kim said.

* * *

If there was one thing she hated in the world, it was staying in a hospital. She couldn't stand how quite it got in them sometimes. You could always hear the sounds of people walking on the tiled floor, or the carts the janitor's pushed. And then, there was that smell. She could never quite describe it, but it always smelled so sterile. She did her best to stay away from hospitals. Now look where she was. She was sitting in a creepy examining room on an uncomfortable bed with a paper thin sheet, and a stitched up cut in her hairline. She prayed she would get out of her soon. 

"How are you feeling?" Kim asked her as she slid the curtain aside that separated her from the rest of the ER.

"Like I just drove into a river." She said. "How about you?"

"They took a few x-rays, but nothing's broken." She said.

"Kid, someone up there must really like you. I still could have sworn I hit you." She said as she tried to remember what had happened, but it was all so blurry.

"You must have missed. I think when the railing gave way, I fell in with you." Kim said, trying to think of an explanation.

"I guess that makes sense. You know, I don't think I ever got your name."

"It's Kim. Kim Possible." The young redhead said and offered her hand.

"Sherri Gordon." The older woman said and firmly shook her young rescuer'' hand. "Thanks for getting me out of there."

"It was no big. Sorry about your car though."

"I've got insurance, so I'm not that worried about it." Sherri said.

"I've never seen you around Middleton before. Did you just move here?" Kim asked her.

"You could say that. I just got here because of a job opening." She said as she rubbed her head.

"Kimmie? Your father's waiting for us outside." Dr. Anne Possible said as she interrupted their talk.

"Nice to meet you. Maybe we'll bump into each other again." Kim said as she walked off.

"She's something else." Sherri said to the older red head by her side.

"You can say that again." Anne said as she watched her daughter leave. "The police just fished your car out of the river; and you were right. It looks like someone did cut your brake line." Dr. Possible said.

"I knew it." Sherri growled. "So, when can I get out of here?"

"In a few minutes. Look, there's something I have to get off my chest." Anne said to her patient.

"_Here it comes."_ Sherri thought to herself.

"You almost hit my daughter today. You could have killed her. She saved your life, and I'm proud of her for that. But if you had hurt her in any way,"

"Doc, I know."

"No, you don't. Just remember this. Hippocratic Oath or not, if I find out you've hurt my daughter in any way; you'll pay for it. I know what to operate on in that brain of yours for you to think you're a six-year-old every time you take a breath. Do you understand me?" Anne threatened.

"Crystal." Sherri said.

"Good." Anne said and went to join her daughter in her husband's car.

"I guess I made a new friend." Sherrie said to herself.

* * *

Kim's mind was still dwelling on the recent events, even more so now. Everything replayed over and over again in her head as her father drover her and Ron home. She had opened the car like it was a soda can. Not to mention – she didn't want to dwell on it. There had to be something to explain what was happening to her. Her parents had to know something. 

"You okay, KP?" Ron asked her.

"I'm fine. How did your parents react when you told them you skipped school?" she asked him.

"They weren't too happy about it. But given the fact that I was there to call an ambulance and all, I'm only grounded for two weeks." Ron told her.

"I'm sorry, Ron." Kim said as she looked down at her lap.

"It's okay. Two weeks with no TV will just breeze on by. If thye made it two weeks without Bueno Nacho? That would be cruel and unusual punishment." Ron told her. He glanced at her and still saw the disturbed look on her face as she looked outside the window once again. "Kim?"

"Ron, I can't take this anymore." She whispered to him. "When we get home, I've got to ask them." Kim said.

"Are you sure?" Ron asked her. He had been the one that had told her to ask them for some time, but he was smart enough not to say anything about it then.

"I'm sure, Ron. I've got find out something." Kim said as they felt the park slow to a stop in front of Kim's house.

"Are you staying for dinner tonight, Ronald?" Mrs. Dr. P asked as they began climbing out of the car.

"Mom? Dad?" Kim asked as she and Ron climbed out of the car.

"What is it, Kimmie-cub?" her father asked as he searched for his house key.

"Dad, I think there's something wrong with me." Kim said as she walked close to them.

"Wrong?" her father asked.

"Kim, I looked at the x-rays myself. There's nothing wrong with you." Her mother said.

"Yes there is. Mom, I didn't want to worry you, but I'm changing. I can move so fast now that everything else looks like they're standing still. And I've been getting so much stronger."

"How strong?" Anne asked her.

"The car that woman was in. She was unconscious and I had to get her out. Mom, dad, I ripped the top off of it like it was cardboard."

Anne closed her eyes as she began to think. She was about to speak when her husband interrupted her.

"Kimmie-cub, it was probably an adrenalin rush. During situations, it can cause people's abilities to be amplified." Mr. P said.

"James," Anne started.

"Anne, that's all it was. She's a normal girl." James said as he went to unlock the door.

"NORMAL?" Kim shouted, startling both her parents and Ron. She glanced at the open garage and walked to the lawnmower that was in the corner. She dragged the mower into the front yard and started it as she faced her parents again. "Does this look normal?" she asked as she knelt down and shoved her hand into lawnmower blades.

"KIM!"

"KP!" her parents and Ron shouted as they rushed to her as they heard something in the mower snap and sparks fly from underneath.

When they pulled out her hand, they were all dumb founded to see that her hand was perfectly intact. There were no scratches, no bones broken, or anything missing. It was perfect. Her mother kept looking it over, trying to be sure that there was nothing wrong. James turned the lawnmower over and saw that the blades had been snapped off. The sparks were from one of the broken blades scratching the metal covering.

"The car did hit me, mom. It didn't even hurt, even when it pinned me down. I don't know what's going on, but it's scarring me." Kim said to her parents.

"James, we have to tell her. We can't hide this anymore." Anne said as she looked to her husband. It was hard for him to do, but he nodded his head in agreement.

"You're right." James said to his wife.

"Tell me what?" Kim asked them.

"Get your coat, Kim. We're fixing to take a long drive." Her mother told her.

"I'll see if the Stoppables can keep an eye on Jim and Tim when they get home from school." James said as he went into the house.

* * *

They had been driving for a few hours now. The whole time, Kim was very anxious. Her parents didn't say or tell her anything, other than there was something they needed to show her. It took some convincing, but they had let Ron come with them. It was a huge relief to have her friend by her side, even if he had slept through the entire drive. She had been holding his hand the entire time, not knowing what to expect. She just hoped she would be getting some answers soon. 

After what seemed like several almost endless hours, the car finally came to a stop in front of a small cabin out in the country. Kim recognized it from a few photos her family had back at the house. After shaking Ron awake, everyone piled out of the car.

"Wow. This is a pretty nice place." Ron said as he took in the beautiful surroundings as Rufus nodded in agreement.

"This is where Anne and I had our honeymoon. After you came along Kim, your mother and I bought this place so we could come here whenever we wanted." James said as they walked toward the cabin.

"But why are we here?" Kim asked her parents as she and Ron followed them as they walked behind the cabin.

"To explain why you're so different." James said as he and Anne stopped at the entrance to a storm cellar. "Kimmie-cub, there's something important we have to tell you." James said to her.

"What is it?" Kim asked.

"Kimmie, this place is very special to us for another reason. This is where we found you." Anne told her.

"Found her?" Ron asked them.

"Y-you mean I-I'm adopted?" Kim asked them.

"In a way." James said, mainly to himself as he recalled what had happened so many years ago. "Your mother and I were both promoted at the same time, and we came here to celebrate. It was a second honeymoon. But one night, we were star gazing when we found you." James told her.

"You mean I was abandoned?" Kim asked as James opened the entrance to the storm cellar.

"Not in the way you think." Anne said her as they all went into the cellar.

"What is that supposed to - mean?" Kim asked as James turned the light on and revealed a large object that was covered with an old dust covered tarp.

"Because the way we found you wasn't a baby on our doorstep." James said as he pulled the tarp off, causing the dust and dirt to fly off of it. When the dust and dirt cleared, Kim and Ron gasped at what they saw. Even though it hadn't been touched for years, it still looked like it had just been created.

Kim took a few steps closer to make sure she was looking at it right. There was no doubting it, though. She was looking at a real rocket ship. But from she could see, she couldn't see anything like the thrusters and engines she had seen on so many rockets at the Space Center. The shape of ship was sleek and completely smooth, making it look like it was made out of mercury. There no signs of bolts or any welds. Three pylons were retraced into the rear of the ship. Along its sides were strange designs and symbols that had been engraved into it. One design that caught her eye though was the one that was in the center of the ship's nose area. It was a pentagon, shaped like a diamond. In its center was a strange stylized S. The image looked familiar to her; like the back of her mind was telling her that she knew it. But the problem was that she had never seen the symbol before. Not until today.

"You found me – in this?" Kim said as the shock washed over her like a cold sweat.

"I've used almost every favor I have to try and see what these symbols mean. And each time I got the same answer. The symbols don't match anything on Earth. I was able to take a small sample of the ship's hull and analyze it. The metal it's composed of is made of elements that aren't even on our periodic table." James said to her.

"Your father and I used to joke that you were from another planet. With all your abilities that you have, I guess we didn't know how close to the truth we were." Anne said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are you trying to tell us that KP's an alien?" Ron asked them.

"I didn't believe it myself at first." Anne said.

"That's just - KP?" Ron asked when he noticed Kim was just standing and gazing at the ship in front of them. "Kim?" he asked again.

"That symbol." Kim said as she looked at it.

Slowly, she reached her hand out to the strange ship before her. As soon as she placed her hand on it, the ship began to power up. A sensor, the same that had scanned Anne and James so long ago, scanned the area around it until it landed on Kim. It scanned her several more times before it zoomed in on her eyes. There was a bright flash before the sensor retracted into the ship.

The symbol on the ship began to glow a blazing white. Kim slowly stepped backwards until the image of two people, a male and a female, appeared before her. The man she didn't recognize, but the woman was the one that startled her. The reason being was that the woman almost looked like Kim in every way. The only difference was her eyes. Hers were a crystal sapphire blue. The way she looked at Kim with such kindness and warmth.

They began to speak to her, but Kim didn't recognize the language at all. She saw their gestures, she could see the emotion in their faces and in their eyes, but she still didn't understand them.

"What are they saying?" Kim asked herself.

They turned to her with a look of sympathy. It was as if they knew what she had just said to them. The man reached his hand out to her. Kim was confused and didn't know what to do. Slowly, doubting her actions, she reached out and tried to grasp the man's hand. As soon as she made contact, Kim felt a bolt of lightning was passing through her entire body as she clenched her jaw shut. Her head was beginning to pound with pain. She broke the grip with the hologram before her and clutched her head as she felt she had just stepped off of a merry-go-round that was traveling mach 4.

"Kara." A voice said. Startled, she looked up to see both of the holograms were looking at her again. "Kara, can you understand me?" the man asked. Kim could only numbly shake her head yes. "If you can understand us, then that means the scan has worked."

"We're sorry for the pain it caused, but it was the only way for you to understand us." The woman said to her.

"W-who are you?" Kim asked as the pain in her head began to fade away.

"I am Jor-El."

"And I am Lara. We are your parents." The woman said, making Kim's eyes widen in complete surprise.

"I can't hear what they're saying to Kim." Ron said as he watched his friend talk to the two holograms.

"I can't either. James?" Anne asked her husband.

"I-I honestly don't know." James said and continued to watch.

"T-this is unreal." Kim said, soaking in everything that had just happened in the past few minutes.

"We wish there was more time to include everything we want to tell you. The most important message we wanted to tell you was that we sent you to Earth to keep you safe."

"Safe?" Kim asked.

"In this ship; you will find a history of our people, and a crystal. When the time comes, my daughter; you will know what to do with it." The woman said to her.

"Be safe, Kara." The man said.

"And always remember that we love you, with all our hearts. I pray that you are happy, my daughter." The woman said as tears began to fill her eyes.

The man and woman hugged each other in a tight embrace before the image slowly faded away. The power within the ship deactivated as the cockpit opened with a hiss. Kim didn't move, but stood perfectly still for a moment or two. She didn't know what to think or say at that moment. In one day, she had discovered she was adopted and it looked like she was most likely an alien from another planet. The one thought in her mind that kept dominating everything else were the words _"It was all a lie."_

"Kim?" Ron asked as he kept a close eye on his friend.

"Kimmie-cub?" James asked his daughter.

"It's all a lie. My whole life is a lie."

"Kim?" Anne asked gently.

"I'm not a freak." Kim said as she began to back away from the craft.

"Freak? KP, what are you talking about?" Ron asked, confused by what she was saying.

"I'm not a freak. I'm not a freak. I'M NOT A FREAK!" Kim said as she dashed out of the cellar at a blinding speed, creating a massive dust cloud in her wake. It felt like a gale force wind was blowing through the cellar as the three remaining people shielded her eyes.

"Where did she go?" Anne asked, her voice filled with worry.

"I don't know. At those speeds, she could be anywhere by now. Literally." James said as the scientist part of him began to take over.

"Guys, just chill!" Ron said, gaining the two adults attention. "This is KP we're talking about."

"You're right. Where would Kimmie go when she was upset?" James asked himself as the others thought. Ron was the first one to think of most likely spot.

* * *

It was several hours later when they all returned. The sun had set, and the light of the full moon was shinning down upon the suburban area. While Anne and James kept an eye on Jim and Tim, Ron was heading to his backyard. Ron checked with Wade to see if Kim had a tracking chip, but no luck. He had to remind himself later for Wade to deactivate that thing. 

As he entered his backyard, he glanced to the tree house that still sat in the strong branches of the largest tree in the yard. A couple of good memories began to swim back to his mind when he and Kim first built it. When he saw the light of a glowing lamp coming out from one of the windows, he knew his suspicions were correct. He only hoped that the sidekick would be able to step up.

"KP?" Ron asked as he climbed into the tree house.

"Go away." Kim sobbed as she lay on the old couch.

"Come on, KP. It's your best friend, Ron." He said to her.

"Leave me alone." Kim said again.

"I can't." he said to her.

"Why?" she asked, not even bothering to look up from the pillow her face was buried in.

"If I bailed on my best friend in her moment of need; that would make me a first class jerk. Even worse than Bonnie." Ron told her. He didn't receive an answer.

He knew she wasn't ready to talk yet. He wasn't going to push her or force her to talk. When she was ready, she would talk. He grabbed an old stool and set it in the corner. He sat down, propped his back against the wall, and waited.

First, ten minute went but. Then fifteen, twenty minutes, thirty minutes. It was a full hour of silence before Kim finally sat up with a loud sniff, and looked at her best friend with red eyes.

"You're still here." She said as she saw Ron sitting in the corner.

"I told you I wasn't going to bail on you." Ron said to her.

"Thanks." Kim said as she wiped away a few remaining tears as Ron moved from the stool to a place next to her on the couch.

"How are you holding up?" he asked her.

"I don't know. I don't think I even know who I am." She said..

"You're Kim Possible." Ron told her.

"Ron, I just found out I'm adopted. Everything I know is a lie. I'm a freak." Kim sobbed.

"Don't you dare say that again!" Ron said with a very serious voice. The hard edge actually made Kim flinch a little. "You are not a freak! If I hear you call yourself that again, I'll slap you upside the head." Ron said, confusing Kim with his serious attitude. "And your life isn't a lie. Besides finding out that you have another set of parents, what's changed?" Ron asked her.

"I found out I'm not really a Possible." Kim said to him.

"Yes you are."

"Ron,"

"KP, you've been Kim Possible you're whole life. That's who you are. That's what you know yourself as. So Mr. and Mrs. Dr. P didn't give birth to you, but do they love you any less?" Ron asked her.

"Well, no. I guess not." Kim said.

"Do you love them any less?"

"Of course not!"

"Then what's changed? Kim, they're the ones that raised you. I mean, it is freaky that you might be an alien. But you're still Kim Possible, and you're still my best friend." Ron said to her.

"What if I turn into a green person with glowing red eyes?" Kim asked him.

"You'll still be KP." Ron said and gave her one of his goofy smirks.

Kim chuckled as she embraced Ron into a tight hug. Like it had so many years ago, she began to feel better as he returned it. She wasn't going to feel her usual self for a while though. It would take her a couple of days to adjust to the news. While it didn't explain all the questions she had, it did explain a few.

"Ron, do you remember those nightmares I used to have? Where I would scream that name?" she asked him as she broke the hug.

"You mean Laura or something?" Ron asked her.

"Yeah. I found out something, though. Those two people were my parents." She told him.

"Really?" he asked her.

"Yes. The woman was named Lara." Kim told him, and noticed Ron was having a hard time putting two and two together. "Ron, I was screaming for Lara and I never knew why." Kim told him.

"Wait a minute. You mean,"

"I was calling for my mother. I remembered her." Kim said to him.

* * *

It had been a while since she had put this uniform back on, but it fit like a glove. She had thought about redesigning it when she decided to turn to the opposite side of the law, but she thought it was only fitting. After all, she designed it. She had followed the instructions she had been e-mailed to meet her new employer. So far, it just looked like a domed warehouse. Keeping her senses at the ready, she pushed the warehouse door opened and walked in. 

The door slammed closed with an echoing thud, causing her muscles to tighten and fists to ball. She walked right into a trap!

"_Shego!"_ an amplified voice echoed as a lone spotlight shined on top of her. _"I see you decided to show up."_

"I thought I was here for a job!" Shego shouted back.

"_Your powers are impressive, my dear. Now it's time to see if you deserve the position!" _The voice shouted as several broad figures in red and black jumpsuits began to surround her. Their heads were covered with red hoods and glowing green goggles that hid their eyes.

"I did forget to exercise today." Shego said to her self as she lit her hands with her emerald fire and attacked each figure one by one.

She was impressed as they all took every single blow she was dishing out. Most of the time, a person would collapse from the impact of on of her blows. It was super strength, plus a little bit of her comet powers that gave it an added edge. She fought against some of the toughest criminals known, and they still went down when she put her muscle behind one of her hits or kicks. So either these guys were wearing padded suits, or –

"They're not human." Shego said as her hands flared to life and attacked.

She sunk her flaming talon-like gloves deep into the chest of one of her attackers, and dragged them downward at a fast pace. She grimaced when she saw the neon green liquid begin to rapidly spill onto the floor.

"_Sybtho-Drone 804 deeee-aaactivvv" _the figure said as it's body began to shrivel like a balloon.

"_HALT THE SIMULATION!"_ the pa shouted as the other figure's stopped in their tracks and the rest of the lights came on.

Shego saw that there were several computers and machines of various types lining the walls of the building. Several men wearing hooded red jumpsuits were working at various areas and taking notes while four of them were at what looked to be a surgical table with another one of the withered figures laying on it. From the shadows, a man wearing a dark blue lab coat briskly walked to the fallen drone. He had the beginning signs of wrinkles from entering middle age, and a nasty scar starting from his left eye and ran down the entire length of his cheek. One of his more prominent features was that his skin was a strange shade of blue.

"Syntho-Drone 804. Oh, he was one of my favorites. Now I have to re-design the bodysuit from scratch!" he growled as he kneeled down and examined what was left of the drone.

"You're Dr. Drakken?" she asked him.

"Yes, I am. I read your file, and it said you didn't kill. Why the sudden change?" Drakken asked her as he stood to his full height again.

"When I use a little of my powers in my fighting, I can take down a guy twice the size of Triple H. So either these guys were wearing padded suits or they weren't human." Shego said to him.

"Taking down two birds with one stone, I see." Drakken said. "Walk with me Shego." He said as he walked over to the surgical table. I have to admit, I am a bit confused by why a renowned hero is decided to become in league with a notorious criminal such as myself." He said.

"Let me just put it this way. I'm sick of having to live up to other people's expectations. When I die, I want it to be known that I did whatever the hell I feel like." She told him.

"That's all?" Drakken asked her, knowing there was something else.

"And I've seen these amateurs screw up left and right. I know what not to do, and I'd love to be filthy stinking rich." She said to him.

"A woman after my own heart." Drakken said with a smile. "Well, you're not bugged. If you were, the alarms in this place would have gone off. And you passed both tests." Drakken said.

"Both tests? What was the other one?" she asked.

"You survived the drones, didn't you?" he asked her.

"So what do I have to do?" she asked him.

"There are certain things a few things my experiments need. However, my current situation doesn't put me in the proper position to acquire them. With all the skills and talents you have, I need you to find a way for me to attain them." Drakken said as he rewired the deflated drone's head.

"In other words, you can't afford jack and you need me to steal whatever it is you need." Shego said.

"When you put it that way, you take all of the flavor out of it." Drakken grumbled as he sealed the drone's head and began to pump it full of syntho goo.

"So what are all these things for? Bank heist? Kidnapping?" Shego asked, not really caring. All she wanted the paycheck she was promised.

"How about world domination?" he asked her.

Shego slowly turned to her new employer with a wide grin spreading on her face. A sadistic gleam started to fill her eyes as she began to think about what the mad doctor had just said.

"I think we're going to get along just fine." She said with a chuckle.

_DEEP SPACE_

The mists and clouds swirling across the planet below made it look like it was a shimmering jewel in space as the glow of the red sun gave it light and life. The many sparkling lights within the shadows of space made it seem that an intricate spider web had been woven, revealing several amazing shapes as they connected all over its surface. From the shadowed surface, almost unnoticeable, a black ship in the shape of a pentagonal diamond sped its way into space as the orbiting satellites began to come on line and move on their own accord. As the orbiting machines changed their positions, three pylons extended from the ship and hurled itself into trans-warp. Seconds after the ship fled to safety, the beautiful world it had left, the planet Kandor, suffered the same horrific fate as the once great planet Krypton.

Inside the dark ship, the being responsible for the fate of both worlds sat inside as it brought the ships new modifications on-line. As it observed the readings of the new equipment, it saw that it had to act quickly. The upgrades it had made wouldn't last long, and the necessary replacement parts were several lights years on the opposite side of the known galaxy. Moving faster than any normal human could follow, it made the necessary adjustments and corrections, and began to transmit its signal.

"Are you receiving? Can you hear me?" it asked, hoping it hadn't miscalculated.

"_I'm here."_ A faint, ghost like voice responded. _"What is your status report?"_

"Krypton has been destroyed, my lord."

"_And what of Kandor?"_

"It has been – dealt with, my lord." The being said as a metal shield extended itself over a large glass jar that sat with the being inside the ship's hull. A souvenir from the now dead world.

"_Excellent. What about my servants?"_

"Two are with me, presently within stasis. And I received a confirmation signal from Zor-El before Krypton was destroyed. He is currently on the planet Argo."

"_Very good. Soon, we can start to rebuild. Now to the matter at hand. What of Jor-El?"_

"My sensors detected a small vessel leaving Krypton's biosphere before I did. The warp signature and propulsion design were a match to Jor-El's plans."

"_I knew that fool wouldn't stand aside and let himself and his family be destroyed. What was its heading?"_

"Judging from the direction the vessel was heading and the probable power supply a vessel of its size could support, I hypothesize it was going toward the Sol system."

"_The Sol system. It sounds familiar. Are there any inhabitable worlds?"_

"According to my database, the third planet is the only one with a biosphere capable of supporting Kryptonian life. The scientist known as Dax-Ur was conducting a study of it."

"_Now I remember. I order you to proceed to the planet in the Sol system and find Jor-El. Once you do, commence with your primary programming."_

"As you command, General Zod." The being said as it ended the transmission and altered its course. Zor-El could wait a few years more. For now, its new orders were of more importance.


	3. Knock Off

Invincible

By FAH3

It had almost been one year. One year ago, she joined this idiot that she thought might have a chance at dominating the world. One year ago, she turned her back on her family and everything she had fought and bled for. One year ago, she became free. It was also a year ago that she met her best friend. The only friend she had ever had in her whole life. And the whole miserable part of it was that the same girl that was her friend is also her enemy.

One year ago, her brake lines were cut while she was hiding in Middleton, Colorado and crashed into a river. The scariest part of the whole experience was when she thought she had hit a kid. A teenaged girl, to be exact. Thankfully, she was wrong. The girl had pulled her from the heap of her car and saved her life. She thought that would be the last she would ever see that girl, but she was wrong. She ended up bumping into the girl later on at the Middleton Mall. They talked over a soda or two, and discovered they actually had a lot in common. They became friends, almost like sisters.

However, she received one of the biggest shocks of her life when she finally went into action to do some smash and grab for Dr. Drakken. She thought she had destroyed the security cameras before any of them were able to take any images of her face. Imagine her surprise when the two people that had burst into the lair to stop them was none other than the girl that saved her life and her idiot friend Stoppable. Kimmie was _the_ Kim Possible. She hated to watch the news, and she didn't read the paper as much as she should. She had to make a mental note to not read so many of those magazines of hers. So, naturally, she didn't know that her friend Kim was the teen hero. And she also discovered that the girl knew how to fight. She would never admit it, as Shego or Sherri, but this girl was just about her equal. Not to mention her strength was as great as hers!

But there was something strange though. They had fought several times since their first encounter, but she noticed something every time they had fought against each other. Every single time she had ignited her hands with her powers, Kim seemed to grow weaker. She could see the strain in her eyes and in her face to keep pushing herself onward, but it looked like her powers seemed to drain her. They never did anything like that before with anyone. It was her possession of this knowledge that brought her to one of her many crossroads. And how she hated all of these crossroads of her life.

Now being a villain and a wanted criminal in just about every place on Earth, should she tell Drakken about her theory so they can use it against her? Or should she honor the only friendship she had ever had in her life that she could remember? Sometimes her conscience could be just a big pain in the ass. She was lucky Drakken didn't pay attention to details at times. Otherwise, he would have noticed she had been looking at the same magazine page for the past twenty minutes.

"There has to be a way to defeat that bratty cheerleader." Drakken growled to himself.

"Here we go again." Shego groaned to herself. She was getting so sick and tired of his ramblings.

"There must be a way to stop her. If only I only had people as skilled as her." Drakken said as he began to pace about the lab, and noticed the cold glare he was getting from his assistant. Shego played a game with him called "Make Drakken Go Ouch" whenever he upset her. That's how she lost the title of sidekick, and earned the position of assistant. "Other than you, I mean." Drakken quickly added.

"I thought you did." She growled as she finally turned the page in her magazine.

"Wait. That's it." Drakken said.

"What is?" Shego asked him, not really caring.

"You're the only one that can beat her. You're the only one that has ever been a match for her. True, she has beaten you a few times."

"THOSE WERE STALE MATES!" Shego screamed as the edges of her magazine began to smoke. She had fought most of her life to prove she wasn't weak, and she'd be damned before anyone said otherwise.

"Yes, of course." Drakken said, hoping to calm her down before she decided to play her game again. He was still applying ointment to the last burns he had received from her last time. "The fact remains that you're a prime example of what I need."

"So you're going to make me train the henchmen?" she asked him.

"That wouldn't work. Those goons couldn't even screw in a light bulb. Maybe if I used an army of clones instead. That could work." Drakken said dreamily as his plan began to unfold before his eyes.

"**NO!"** Shego bellowed as part of the wall and ceiling behind him erupted in a green explosion of fire and debris.

Drakken was frozen to his spot as everything settled. Slowly, Drakken turned his gaze to the pissed comet powered villainess that looked ready to castrate a T-Rex with her bare hands.

"D-did I say something wrong?" he asked her.

"No cloning at all!" Shego growled.

"But Shego! If we had an army of clones with your fighting skills and po"

"NO CLONES!" Shego screamed and hurled another huge fireball against another wall, turning it into nothing more than rocks and dust. "It's in my contract, Dr. D. Under no circumstances are you to even try to clone me. EVER!" Shego growled. "I'm using my vacation time." Shego said as she started to leave.

"But how?"

"I DON'T CARE HOW YOU TAKE CARE OF KIMMY! NO CLONES! YOU WANT AN ARMY? WHY DON'T YOU CLONE THE PRINCESS?!" Shego shouted as she left the lab and a shivering Drakken.

It was bad enough she had been – cursed with these damn powers. She didn't want anyone else to suffer the misery these powers had brought to her. To her, nothing good ever came out of having these abilities. What did it ever give her? These damn powers took her mother away from her, made her live with a brother who wouldn't know common sense if it bit him in the crotch, and they made her an outcast and unwanted. Why would anyone want that?

She also remembered the last time that someone had tried to clone her. She and her brothers had been called in to fight a creature that had been on a destructive rampage throughout Go City. It took them several hours, but they defeated the creature before it died. They followed the creature's path of destruction to figure out where it had come from, and stumbled on a government-funded facility known as Cadmus Labs. It turned out that the creature they had stopped was a genetically altered clone of her brother Hego. They were trying to create a Super Soldier and decided to use the DNA of Team Go. They never did find out how they were able to get a sample of DNA from all of them, but she didn't like it. While the Cadmus big wigs tried to distract Hego and the others, she had sneaked off to investigate the rest of the complex. What she found made her stomach curdle like soar milk.

They were experimenting with genetics in ways that made Frankenstein look like an ER doctor. She didn't know if the things in there had been human at a certain point or had been born like that. Some looked like they were living creatures of granite and stone while other seemed to be reptilian. She also swore she might had seen a dinosaur or two. She had also seen several strange creatures that looked - alien.

She found out that the creatures had been named DNAliens. The creatures had been given the name because of the doctor that had created them. A woman with a genius I.Q. and skills that could have given Drakken a run for his money every now and then named DNAmy. That would explain all the creatures that resembled Cuddle Buddies since she was known for having one of the largest collections of those stuffed rodents in the world. But all of those creatures that they had created, even the psychic one named Dublix; they weren't what made her cringe.

She had found the lab where they were experimenting with her families DNA. It was what she had seen in there that made her sick to her stomach. There were clones of Hego that looked normal or ones that made him look like a knock off of the Incredible Hulk. There also misshapen varieties of Mego. Since his power was the ability to shrink, most if the clones limbs were of various sized. A couple of them had one huge arm that was accompanied by an extremely smaller one, while others seemed to suffer from an extreme case of gigantism. There were also clones of the Wego's that looked like every known case of Siamese twins ever known. Seeing them playing God with her brother's DNA enraged her. They might be a pain in her ass, but she loved them. They were family. But then she found her clones.

The clones were all misshapen beyond belief. She glanced at the record that were on the computers and saw that her powers had caused problems they hadn't foreseen. It was like looking into a freak show of horrors. She even found out that every time one clone was exposed to oxygen, it would burst into green flame. Instead of being humane and putting it out of her misery, they kept the clone alive so they could study it.

Shego walked through row after row of gestation machines and saw the revolting incarnations of herself. Some looked like they had been washed in acid baths while others looked like figures you would see in horror movies. Mainly the monsters that people would do their best to kill. Then she found the one she was looking for, and she felt her heart almost burst from the pain at what she saw. The clone that couldn't be exposed to oxygen was alive, conscious, and floating in a nutrient bath with an oxygen mask strapped to her face to keep her alive. The clone was also a small child, a little girl no older than five years old. Her hair was gone, and her body was covered in multiple burn scars. Some of the scars were old, long since healed over. But others were fresh and still red. They had been repeatidly exposing her to air to observe her burn.

The little girl saw Shego, and flinched. Naturally, she was afraid of people. The child probably thought that it was another one of the Cadmus lab techs come to hurt her again. Shego stepped closer to the chamber and placed her hand on the glass. When they child saw this action, she became confused. When the child saw the tears running down the older woman's face, and saw her skin was green like hers, she assumed that this one might be a friend. Shego had to do her best from cringing when she saw the child put her hand against the glass to touch Shego's. There were two stumps on the small girl's palm, where a pinky and an index finger used to be. Shego could see that they had been burned away some time ago.

"What have they done to you?" Shego asked the child as she continued to weep for the poor creature.

"Help me." The small child cried.

"How?" Shego asked her.

"Kill me." The child said as she began to cry as well.

That was the only time Shego actually considered taking a life. To let that poor child's suffering end and no one would be able to hurt her again. When security dragged her out of the lab, she decked the Cadmus director in the face so hard that she actually knocked several of his teeth out. She served a few days in jail for that, but it was worth it. How dare he do that to a living human being. She fought tooth and nail to tell people about what Cadmus was doing, to warn everyone. But no on listened, or the government stepped in to protect their asset. That's when she decided to quit being a hero. That was what made her snap. It was also why she wouldn't let anyone clone her. Because there was too good a chance that there would be another one like the little girl that was being purposely tortured in the name of Science and National Defense.

She needed time to cool off. Rethinking those horrible memories actually felt like someone had physically stabbed her in the back. Maybe she would go to the Bahamas. Just somewhere where there was an expensive Beach Resort, cute boys, and where she could max out Dr. D's credit card.

* * *

Kim wished she could slam her head into a wall if she didn't know her head would go right through it. If she ever found that fashion designer, she would have to launch her into space. Maybe not her, just her car. And her apartment. And her office. As another girl walked by the booth she was sitting in, Kim growled when she saw the clothes that the girl was wearing. Kim Style. Someone had blatantly ripped off her mission clothes and decided it to make it the latest trend. Now every were she went, she saw _her_ mission clothes that _she_ came up with! As if being from another planet wasn't bad enough!

"Hey KP. How's my favorite super friend?" Ro asked as he sat across from her.

"Getting very annoyed. And please don't say anything like that." Kim said as she rubbed her temples.

"Say what?" Ron asked her, a little confused.

"Super friend, space girl, all the nick names. I don't want anyone to find out about that." Kim told him.

"Okay, I get that. But I was calling you super friend because we save the world on almost a weekly basis." Ron explained.

"Oh, sorry." Kim said.

"Man, you've really been wigging this week, KP. What's wrong?" Ron asked her.

"Take a look around." Kim said as she waved her hand to the girls that were all wearing identical outfits.

"They're not out of Diablo sauce again, are they?"

"Ron, they're wearing me! My style has been trademarked, and everyone thinks I'm ripping it off!" Kim said exasperated.

"Chill, KP. It's just a fad. Give it another day or two and not even Bonnie will admit to wearing Kim Style." Ron told her.

"You're probably – Kim Style?" Kim asked as she raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Monique said it." Ron quickly added as Rufus crawled onto the table and dove into a stack of nachos with extra cheese. "So, what all have you read about your family today?" Ron asked her.

When Kim had finally settled down all those months ago, she returned to the ship and retrieved the tablet, the crystal, and a strange flag from the ship. She pinned the flag up against a wall in the tree house and marveled at the blue, gold, and crimson colors it was made of. The strange pentagonal S shield that was on the ship was in the middle of the blue area of the flag while the crystal sat in a drawer in Kim's room. The tablet seemed to displayed different types of movies and information whenever Kim seemed to touch it.

The writing and language couldn't be understood at all. But Kim soon figured out the basics of moving the data forward and backward and watched the movies with interest. Even Ron liked watching them. To Ron, it was like watching a science fiction movie marathon. They tried to understand what happened and often made up their own stories to go along with what they saw. Kim was always anxious to get to it whenever she could. Ron tried to use it once, but discovered that kim was the only one that could use it.

"I think I might have discovered something." Kim said to him.

"Really? What's that?"

"You know that S shield?" Kim asked and saw Ron nod his head yes while he stuffed his face with nachos. "Well, I finally found a movie with my birth parents in it. He was wearing the same shield, and so were the people that I think were his family." Kim said.

"You mean," Ron said as he gulped down his food. "that it's a family crest?" Ron asked her.

"Maybe. It would explain why so many other people in those movies were wearing different symbols." Kim said.

"Hey, K." a feminine voice, in a very irritating tone said to her.

"Not her, not now." Kim growled to herself as she turned to face her nemesis Bonnie Rockwaller. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers when she saw what the spoiled brat of a cheerleader was wearing.

"Like my new clothes. It's the latest." Bonnie said as she ran her hands down her sides, revealing her black long sleeved crop top and hip hugging cargo pants.

"Th-th-that's my" Kim started to stutter.

"I know; it's your mission clothes. But I just look so much hotter in them than you ever will. Especially in the top area." Bonnie said as she went to sit with her friends.

"I am not flat chested!" Kim growled.

"KP, amp down or you'll pop a vein." Ron said to her.

"I _AM_ calm!" Kim said as she kept her eyes focused onto the table.

"No you're not." Ron said.

"Yes I am." She said as she kept her eyes glued to the table. She knew if she looked up at Ron, she'd loose it and yell at him. So she kept her eyes glued to the table. She didn't listen to anything else Ron was saying since her attention was what she was seeing. Or to what she _wasn't_ seeing. The more she focused her eyes on the table top, the more it seemed to disappear.

Slowly, the table phased away, revealing the inner layers of the wooden table. Soon, she could see through the table and could see the floor below and at Ron's bare legs and feet. Wait, Ron was wearing pants when he came in. What was going on with her?

"Ron? Is the table still there?" Kim asked him.

"Yeah, why?" Ron said.

"You're not going to-" Kim said as she glanced at Ron and let out a small gasp. "I guess you are happy to see me sometimes." Kim said as she kept looking.

"KP, are you okay?" Ron asked his friend as he began to get worried.

"Ron, I think I might have a new power." Kim said as she kept looking. This was sick and wrong. Ron was her best friend, she shouldn't be looking at him like this. They used to take baths, she had seen him like this before. Of course, that was before they hit puberty and he had obviously – grown.

"Is it why you're acting so weird?"

"Oh yeah. I – I can see through things." Kim said.

"Really? That could come in handy on missions. Wait a minute." Ron said when he noticed her gaze. When he noticed the angle she was looking, his hands instantly went downward.

"KIM!"

"I'm sorry!" Kim said as she finally closed her eyes shut.

"For crying out loud, KP! I don't try to peek at you!" Ron said to her.

"I'm sorry, Ron! I wasn't doing it on purpose. And when I saw it – Oh God." Kim said as she covered her ever reddening face with her hands. "Wait a minute. Never peeked? What about when we switched bodies?" Kim asked her friend.

"Nope." Ron said.

"What about when you had to change clothes?"

"Blind folded."

"What about going to the bathroom?"

"Eyes closed."

"Yeah, right." Kim said.

"Ask your parents. I fell into the toilet because I didn't see the seat was up." Ron told her.

"Good. Now you know how we feel." Kim said as she opened her eyes and saw that everything was normal.

"You're not looking through my clothes again, are you?" Ron asked her.

"No, everything's normal." Kim sighed with relief.

"X-ray vision. I didn't see that coming." Ron said.

"Neither did I. I just wish I knew how I did it." Kim said. "I think I'm going to head on home." Kim said as she exited the booth.

"Do you want me to come with?"

"It's okay." Kim said as she left Bueno Nacho.

She hated leaving Ron back there, but she was still embarrassed at seeing his – his not so little friend. She still can't believe that had happened. Just thinking about it was making her blush. She needed to come to grips with herself. She just found out that she has a new ability, but she needed someone to talk to. Not the Tweebs, they would be the last people she'd talk to. Not her mom and dad. And Monique didn't know her secret. Wait, maybe she could talk to Sherri. Sherri didn't know her secret either, but she felt she had as much in common with Sherri as she did with Ron. She just hoped she wasn't at work.

As Kim browsed through her cell phone's phone book, she didn't notice the large van that had been following her. Inside the cab of the van was a very pleased looking Dr. Drakken. He kept his eyes on her but kept his distance so she wouldn't suspect anything.

"So, what are we doing boss?" one of his men asked him.

"Shego's little hissy fit gave me an inspiration for my plan." Drakken chuckled.

"But didn't she say no cloning?" the other goon with him asked.

"No clones of her, yes. But an army of Kim Possible clones?" Drakken asked with a smile.

"You're going to clone Kim Possible?"

"YES! It'll be perfect! My own unstoppable army of Kim clones! The world will be at my feet." Drakken said and started to giggle.

"No offence boss, but she's just a teenager. How's an army of her supposed to help us take over the world?" the goon asked.

Drakken stopped the van when he saw her enter her home. He parked to the side of the road and killed the engine before he proceeded to the back of the mobile lair/laboratory.

"With bits and pieces of the latest technology I've pinched here and there, I've discovered a way to enhance a DNA strand before replicating it. Once I've obtained a DNA sample from miss 'I can do anything,' I can modify it to my specifications." Drakken explained as he brought the equipment online.

"But doesn't cloning take years?" another goon asked. It was amazing how such a small van could fit four henchmen and himself at the same time. He really did get a good deal on this thing.

"Where did you graduate from?" Drakken asked the thug that just spoke.

"Texas A&M." he answered.

"Oh, sorry to hear that. Anyway, it will only take moments with the technology I borrowed from Dr. Bortel. Using a modified version of the syntho-goo from my drones, it can perfectly replicate any DNA that is programmed into it. These clones will be perfect. They'll have the strength of a rogue bull elephant, the striking speed of a King Cobra, and last but not least. The clone will have the fierceness and voracity of one of the most feared creatures to ever walk the Earth. COMMADORE PUDDLES!" Drakken shouted as he threw a sheet off of a Plexiglas cage that was holding a small white poodle that was looking at all the people around them.

As three henchmen were cowering with fear in a corner, the A&M graduate looked at them like they were nuts. "It's just a dog." He said as he knelt in front of the animal and began to tap on the glass. "Aren't you a cute puppy? Yes you are. Yes you,"

That's when the dog smashed through the thick pane of glass and clenched its jaws tightly onto the finger that had been tapping its prison. The thug began screaming in pain as the teeth of the K-9 pierced through flesh and muscle and started grinding bone. If the animal clinched its jaws any tighter, there was a good chance that the thug would permanently loose the finger.

"GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF ME! OH, MAMA! MAMA, HELP ME PLEASE!" the thug screamed as the small poodle began to tug, trying to tear the digit from the hand it rested on.

The animal finally released its predatory hold on the finger when its eyes saw a bacon flavored doggy treat land in its cage. Forgetting about the digit, it quickly rushed to the treat and devoured it while the henchman curled into a fetal position and placed pressure on the wound to try and prevent the bleeding.

"Maybe now you'll listen to me from now on. Unless I say so, don't go anywhere near any caged animal. Got it?" Drakken asked the whimpering man.

"Y-yes sir." The henchman whined as blood dripped onto the van's floor.

"Good. What are you idiots waiting for? Take him to a hospital and get it stitched together." Drakken said as he walked to a computer terminal while his men escorted the injured man outside.

This put a road block in his plans. He wanted to obtain at least a hair sample from the cheerleader tonight while she slept. But with the one man that was skilled enough to do it out of commission, he would have to wait until tomorrow. She had cheerleading practice tomorrow, and they could obtain a sample after she was done in the change room. Once he had the sample, his army would soon be a reality.

* * *

This was how to spend a vacation. Just her lying on a warm beach with the sun giving her a nice tan, a cool breeze, a cold drink in her hand, and boys with asses so tight that it'd make any woman drool. And the best thing was she didn't have to listen to Drakken go on and on about his stupid plans. They never worked, anyway. In fact, she noticed a very disturbing pattern every time he tried to take over the world. Thank God she decided not to live in the lair. If she had, she'd have to buy replacements for everything.

Drakken never did pay like she hoped he would, though. Thankfully, she used the paycheck the Seniors gave her and invested it wisely. Now she was making tons of cash, and had invested it well. Things were going great right now. Especially since Drakken's credit card hadn't maxed out yet. As she enjoyed the view of one of the local lifeguards pass her by, she let out a small grown when she heard her cell phone ring.

"This better be good, or you're,"

"_Sherri?"_ the voice on the other asked.

"KIM!" Shego yelped, almost knocking her drink over.

"_Did I call you at a bad time?"_

"No, not at all. I – was just stuck at work." She lied as she set her drink aside. _'I knew I forgot something. I was so eager to get away from Dr. Dumb Ass that I forgot to tell Princess I was going on vacation.'_ She thought. "So, what's up?"

"_I'm not sure. I'm leaving cheer practice and I think I'm being followed."_

"Followed? What makes you say that?" Shego asked.

"_There's a weird van behind me. It was parked farther down my street earlier this morning, but now I see it popping up every now and then."_

"What does it look like?"

"_It's a navy blue van. It has a catering logo on it, but I've never heard of it."_

'_Blue van with catering logo? That sounds like – he wouldn't!'_ Shego thought to herself. "Where are you heading now?" Shego asked her.

"_To Bueno Nacho to meet Ron." _Kim said.

"Okay. Can your mom or dad pick you up?"

"_No. Both are working double shifts at work today."_

"Okay. Both of you just stay with at Bueno Nacho as long as possible, okay? I'll come and get you." Shego said as she already headed to the hotel.

"_Okay. I'll see you when you get here." _Kim said and hung up.

"Good thing I brought the hover jet." Shego said as she dashed to her room.

* * *

"I'm surprised you were able to accomplish the mission." Drakken said as he watched the computers finish adding the modifications to the sample.

"It wasn't that hard to do, doc. The door wasn't even locked." The goon said as he looked at his bandaged finger. He was lucky that damn dog didn't tear it off.

"So what was it like?" one of the other henchmen asked.

"The decorating was beautiful."

"Really?"

"Oh, yes. I have to get the number who came up with that. My wife would love to have her hobby room like that.

"IF YOU MIND?" Drakken bellowed, causing his men to stand to attention. "I'm trying to create a Legion of Doom, not hosting queer eye for the straight guy!" Drakken shouted as his blue face began turning red. "Now, are you finished talking?" All the henchman nodded yes and didn't dare try to speak. "Good."

Drakken took a piece of the altered sample from the machinery and placed it into a large chamber that looked like it came straight from a science fiction B movie. He closed the curtain that surrounded the chamber and activated the machine. A smile of child like joy began to slowly spread on his face as he watched the machine do its work. Ever so slowly, he saw the diagram of a human figure begin to form as the procedure began to move forward. 24 percent. 40 percent. 55 percent. He was halfway there. Soon, Kim Possible would face an enemy that she wouldn't be able to defeat! 77 percent complete! 84 percent! Almost there! Drakken just couldn't wait to have a perfect loyal henchman.

"IT'S DONE!" Drakken shouted with glee as the machine powered down. "Now the world will face the wrath of -" Drakken said as he pulled the curtain open, and his smile quickly faded into a very angry frown. "An unknown teenager?" Drakken growled as he saw that the clown before wasn't of Kim Possible. Instead, he was looking at a snarling brunette with an even tan. "Boys? Where is the hairbrush you took?" Drakken asked his men.

"R-right here." The henchman with the bandaged finger said as he took it from his satchel.

Drakken quickly grabbed the hairbrush from the trembling thug and took a good look at it. Grasping several hairs from the brush's teeth, he took them to an overhead light to obtain a better look at them. When he saw what color they were, he immediately slammed the brush onto the floor so hard that the plastic object snapped into two pieces.

"Pop quiz. What color is the hair of Kim Possible?"

"Uh – red?" one goon asked nervously.

"Correct. Now can anyone tell me, what color this hair is?" Drakken asked as he held the strands of hair in front of the shivering men.

"We – can't tell, boss. The visors on our uniforms make everything look a little darker. Aren't they,"

"THEY'RE BROWN HAIRS, YOU IDIOT MORONS! YOU BROUGHT ME THE HAIR OF ONE OF HER CLASSMATES!" Drakken bellowed.

"Boss?"

"It was a simple mission! Just get me a few locks of red hair! And what do you do?"

"Boss?"

"YOU BLOW IT, BIG TIME!"

"But boss, just look at,"

The poor thug didn't finish as the brunette clone latched her sharp teeth onto his hand, instantly tearing through flesh and straight to the bone in a heart beat as he screamed in agony. Drakken stood stunned as he watched the young girl maul the man like a bear attacking a gerbil. Soon, his grin returned as he realized that it might not be Kim Possible, but she would certainly work out enough to fetch him the sample he did need.

"Clone, heel!" Drakken ordered, and chuckled as the clone obeyed while the thug moaned and whimpered in agonizing pain. "Oh, I think I can definitely work with this." Drakken chuckled to himself.

* * *

"You feeling any better today, KP?" Ron asked her as he drank his soda.

"A little. I still haven't figured out how that x-ray thing works." Kim said.

"Out of curiosity, what were you doing when it happened?" Ron asked her.

"I was looking at the table." Kim said as she ate her salad.

"That doesn't help. Were you looking at it a certain way?" Ron asked her.

"A certain way?"

"You know, like when you give me the puppy dog pout. Or the dreaded 'look.'" Ron said and shivered with Rufus mimicking.

"What look?"

"When ever you or your mom get mad, your eyes squint and its like a focused beam of guilt hits you right in the heart." Ron told her.

"Not fun." Rufus said.

"I wasn't looking at the table in any way. I was mad and didn't want to yell at you. So I just kept my eyes focused on the table. Wait a minute." Kim said as she caught what she had just said.

"What is it?" Ron asked her.

"I kept my vision – focused on the table. I wonder." Kim said as her brain began to work overtime. "Ron, you might want to cover up." Kim said as she looked at the table again.

"Not again. I wish I had a cup." Ron moaned as he placed his hands discreetly over a private part of his anatomy.

Kim looked at the table and concentrated. She began to focus her eyes on the table top, looking at the plastic that covered it. She could see many things as she focuses, even parts where different colors of the paint on the table top blended into each other. As she focused a little more, she saw part of the table begin to melt away and smirked. Her smile grew in size as she saw more of it fade away as she focused her vision more.

"That's it!" she said happily as she blinked a few times to restore her vision.

"Can I stop covering up now? It looks like I have to go to the bathroom." Ron said.

"Sure. But I figured it out! The x-ray vision kicks in when I focus my eyes on something hard enough." She told him.

"That's great. Just promise me one thing, though." Ron said.

"What's that?"

"No more peeking at Ron Junior."

"Ron Junior?" Kim asked him with a raised eyebrow and did her best not to laugh.

"Well, I don't like all the other names for it. So I just made up one for it."

"Ron Junior?" she asked him again. "I'm going to go get a refill." Kim said and shook her head as she stood up.

Kim couldn't help but snicker at the name Ron had given his – she couldn't even bring herself to finish her sentence. Why did guys give that part of their body stupid names like that? And they think women are hard to understand? As she did her best to stop herself from smiling, she accidently knocked into someone standing in front of her.

"I'm so sorr- Oh. Bonnie." Kim said as she saw recognized her rival, and the Kim Style outfit she was wearing. Kim was still angry with her because of what happened at practice earlier that day. They had formed the pyramid with Bonnie at the base and Kim being the top. Not two seconds after they had formed it, Bonnie answered her cell phone and let the pyramid collapse. Kim suspected that the brunette kept pulling the stunt just to see her fall. "I think you made your point when you wore that outfit yesterday." Kim said to her.

Kim's confusion and curiosity began to rise when her rival turned toward her and began to growl like a dog.

"Chill out, Bonnie. I wasn't that hard on you today." Kim said as the growling grew worse.

When Bonnie tried to bite her, Kim's instincts immediately took over as she back flipped away from her attacker. Something wasn't right. Bonnie tried to claw Kim next, causing her to back away from each strike. What had gotten in to her?

"Ron, I need a little help here!" Kim said as Bonnie tried to snap at her.

"I was about to say the same thing!" Ron shouted as Kim caught Bonnie's wrists.

Kim glanced over her shoulder and did a double take as she saw three more Bonnie Rockwaller's walk into the restaurant! What the hell?! Two began to circle Ron as another snapped at him while also trying to claw at him. Kim looked at the Bonnie in front of her before she fell backwards onto her back, and threw her attacker into the other three growling school girls. Thank God for super strength.

"Ron, head out the back!" Kim shouted to him as the Bonnie's began to stand to their feet.

"KP, what's going on here?" Ron asked as the two darted towards the back.

"I wish I knew." Kim said as they ran through the kitchen and out the back door. Both teens fell to the ground when they ran into someone standing outside. When they both saw who it was, both let out a scream of panic.

"EVIL WOMAN!" Ron screamed as he pinned himself against the graffiti covered wall.

"Very funny, Stoppable. Just because I'm better than you and your loser friend doesn't give you the right to insult me." The young girl said as she stood and dusted the dirt off of her cheer uniform.

"Wait, you're you? I mean, you're not them?" Ron asked as he pointed to the cheerleader and the restaurant.

"You are so weird." Bonnie said as she looked at Ron in disgust.

"Sorry Bonnie. It's just that we have a small problem." Kim said as the back door was kicked open by one of the Bonnie clones.

"Oh my God." Bonnie said as she looked at her duplicate.

"Now you know how I feel about Kim Style." Kim said to herself with a satisfied smirk.

"That bitch stole my outfit!"

"I should have known." Kim said to herself as she pushed Ron and Bonnie out of the way as the replicant pounced onto Kim.

The copy had Kim's arms pinned as she growled fiercely at the red headed heroine. Kim grimaced as drool dripped form her opponent's mouth and onto the T-Shirt was wearing. A small growl escaped her lips as she saw the drool begin to soak into the fabric.

"Do you know how much top of the line Club Banana shirts cost?" Kim asked as she shoved her knee into her opponent's abs.

The growling clone lost her breath, and lost the grip she had on Kim's wrist. Kim freed her right hand and belted her attacker across the jaw, sending her flying five feet away from her.

"God, that felt good!" Kim said as she leapt to her feet and prepared her self for the upcoming fight. Kim glanced around and saw that Ron had Bonnie hid, and wasn't facing the fight. She saw Ron give a thumbs up before she turned to see the other Bonnie begin to charge at her. "Since you're not really Bonnie, I guess I can do THIS!" Kim shouted as she spun and planted her foot hard into the other girl's face.

The contact was so powerful that the girl flipped through the air before impacting against the wall of Bueno Nacho with a loud thud! The other girl slowly peeled of the indentation she had made in the wall before falling into the dumpster with a strong enough force to make the lid slam shut.

"Can you get your hands off me?" Bonnie demanded as she and Ron emerged from their hiding spot. "You better have a good lawyer, Stoppable. If these spots don't come out of my uniform, I'll sue!"

"Knock it off, Bonnie. Wait, do you hear that?" Kim asked as she heard a strange sound begin to echo in her ears.

"Hear what?" Ron asked her.

"That sound. It almost sounds like heated grease." Kim said as she realized that it was coming from the dumpster.

When she and Ron opened the lid, both of them felt ill. Ron turned and did his best to hold his stomach contents in while Kim looked away in horror. Curious to why the two were acting that way, Bonnie walked passed both of them and looked inside the contents. As she did, she felt lightheaded as bile began to crawl up her throat.

The fake Bonnie was lying at the bottom of the dumpster, but she was melting. She could see her lying in a puddle of green liquid, and it looked like she was slowly sinking into it. As she slowly sank into the puddle, pieces of her face and skin were melting away layer by layer, revealing the muscle, bones, and organs that were beneath before they to dissolved into the green liquid. Unlike the two teens next to her, Bonnie didn't have a strong control of her stomach muscles as she fell to her knees. After a series of hacking coughs, the teen emptied what was left of her lunch all over the dirt and oil stained pavement as she listened to the duplicate melt.

"W-Wade?" Kim asked as she activated the communicator.

"_What's up, Kim?"_

"We've got something – something weird here. Can you analyze it?" Kim asked him.

"_Sure. I just need a sample of whatever you need me to take a look at."_

"Sample? As in, a piece of it?" Ron asked.

"_Pretty much."_

"Not it." Ron quickly said.

"You owe me for this." Kim said as she picked up a discarded straw and dipped into the dumpster. "Oh, this stinks." Kim groaned as she scooped the green goo onto the straw and slid it on an extended port of the Kimmunicator. When the port closed, Kim tossed the straw into the dumpster and wiped her hand on her jeans. "Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew." Kim kept saying over and over again.

"_This is something weird. From what I can tell, it's a replicant."_

"You mean a clone?" Kim asked her young friend.

"_No. A clone is a full genetic duplicate. This one was created with some sort of synthetic."_ Wade said to them.

"A cheap clone? Man, villains are really getting cheap." Ron said, thinking that this was most likely a scheme from one of their many enemies.

"What made her – pull a Wicked Witch?" Kim asked.

"_Something in the dumpster. Whatever it is, it's composed oh Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Carbon."_

"Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Carbon?" Kim asked herself, trying to figure out what that made. As she watched Wade take a sip from his drink, the answer finally came to her. "SODA!" Kim said as she felt something tackle her again.

"Ron! Get Bonnie out of here!" Kim shouted as she felt whatever was on top doing its best to keep her pinned to the ground.

Ron took Bonnie by the arm and dragged her off to the other side of the building right when Kim felt something grab her hair and yank. Now that it was just her, she was free to use her strength. Kim quickly jerked her arm backwards and felt her elbow impact against her attacker's ribs. Another swift jab made her attacker roll off of her. Kim got to her feet just in time to see another Bonnie duplicate run away, hunching forward and clutching her ribs as she did so.

Kim ran to the front of Bueno Nacho to try and catch the fake Bonnie when she saw that Ron was now surrounded by several more Bonnie's.

"KP, HELP! THEY'RE TRYING TO YANK MY HAIR OUT!" Ron shouted as he kept trying to dodge and evade the rogue girls.

* * *

Drakken giggled with glee as he looked at the three new hair samples in front of him. The clones had done better than he imagined. Of course there was one slight problem.

"Which one belongs to Kim Possible?" he asked himself as he inserted the samples into the augmentor device.

"Can't you tell, boss?" one of his men asked, enjoying the fact that the table's had turned.

"All right. So I have bad lighting in this thing. But I'm sure," Drakken said as he looked at the finished samples and played a quick guessing game. "This one!" Drakken said and grabbed the sample that sat in the center of the three.

He quickly deposited a piece of the sample in the machine and threw the switch, keeping his fingers crossed the whole time. He knew it wouldn't be long until Possible found him and had to act quickly. When the machine shut down, he pulled back the curtain – and frowned in disappointment again. At the bottom of the chamber was a growling, and very angry, naked mole rat.

"Not again." Drakken growled to himself.

* * *

"That is still sick and wrong." Ron said as he watched all the Bonnie clones melt into a pile of neon green goo like the first one had.

The fight between the clones had moved back into Bueno Nacho, causing most of the staff and patrons to flee in fear. Since Kim knew of their weakness, she didn't have to use her powers to fight them until she reached the beverage dispensers. The first dispenser she had tried to use turned out to be lemonade, but the second time had been the charm. Now the pack of Bonnie clones were nothing but a re-enactment from a bad horror movie.

"Are you okay, Ron?" Kim asked her friend.

"I think so." Ron said as he tried to catch his breath.

"Those clones had to come from somewhere." Kim said to her self as she focused her eyes and saw the wall fade away.

She could see the entire parking lot now. She kept looking, trying to find anything that could giver her any possible clue to where those she-bitches had come from. It wasn't long until she recognized the strange van that had been following her that morning. It was parked at the end of the parking lot; away from everything else. Maybe it had something to do with all this. She focused her eyes harder on the van outside and saw part of it fade. Something was wrong though. She couldn't clearly see through it for some reason, just brief spots here and there. But it was enough. Through one of the gaps, she recognized the pale blue face with the hideous scar running down one cheek.

"Drakken." Kim growled. "Come on, Ron!" Kim said and darted outside.

"Right behind you, KP." Ron said as he followed her.

Kim could see the van and sprinted toward it at a speed where Ron could keep up. Halfway across the parking lot, the rear doors to the van opened to reveal not only several more Bonnie clones, but several clones of Ron with their own Rufus!

"Dude, what a rip off!" Ron said as he saw the growling versions of himself walk towards them.

"I think the term would be knock off." Kim said as she landed a swift kick to the jaw of one of the Bonnie clones before she grabbed it by the arm and hurled it into three others. "I think I might actually enjoy this." Kim said as she began fighting two more Bonnie clones.

She tapped into a small portion of her speed to avoid their attacks and launch her own to quickly try and knock them out of the fight. Kim hit one with a swift and hard punch, sending the clone bouncing three feet along the concrete while she jabbed both of her elbows into the faces of the last two directly behind her. She heard a third running toward her and smirked. She spun to deliver a hard kick, but stopped when she saw it was one of the duplicates of Ron. It looked like Ron in his mission gear, but she knew it wasn't him. It wasn't her Ron. But no matter how many times she said it in her head, her body refused to respond.

The only thing she could do was duck under his high kick, but found it to be a decoy maneuver as he swept her legs out from under her. She was stunned from the sudden move, and soon felt the Ron clone grip her ankles and threw her into the air and across the parking lot. She hit the mystery blue van hard, causing it to rock as she dented the metal inward. She pulled herself from the indenture and shook her head to get her bearings. She didn't see that coming. As she stood on shaky legs, she heard the rear doors open again. When she looked behind herself, her eyes widened to the size of saucers as her jaw became slack.

"What the?" she asked as she saw herself standing in the van, decked out in her mission gear, and with a predatory smile across her face. "What are you?" Kim asked it.

"I'm you. Just a bit more – Bizarre." the replicant said as it leapt, flipped and hit the ground hard enough to make the concrete crack. "You're so much better than everyone, Kimmie. But unlike you, I'm not afraid of using my gifts." The clone said as it used its super speed and belted Kim across the face.

Everything in Kim's line of vision became a blur of colors as she felt herself bounce and tumble. She finally stopped as she hit a lamp post and felt it fall on her head. Before she could even catch her breath, she felt a hard kick to her stomach and another blow across the face before she was dragged to her feet. She looked to her left and right, and saw two more Kim clones holding her arms. Both of them reminded her of a cat before it killed a helpless mouse. Kim looked forward and saw the clone she had been fighting walking towards her with a satisfied smirk.

"You won't get away with this." Kim growled.

"Like you're going to try and stop us? You're too busy pretending to be human when you're not. You're so desperate to fit in, you won't even use them to save your own life." The clone said as she kicked Kim in the face and enjoyed watching her blood ooze from her split lip. "And don't worry about, Ronnie. I'll do to him everything you've been fantasizing about." The clone said in a seductive tone.

"You keep your hands off of him, freak!" Kim spat.

"Or you'll do what?" the clone asked as she balled her fist.

The clone raised her hand, ready to deliver the final blow when the clouds parted and the sun began to shine down on them. As soon as Kim felt the rays of the sun, she felt herself feeling stronger again. But there was something wrong with the clones. They looked like they were beginning to feel weak. Using the opening, she bashed the two that were holding her against each other. Both slumped to the ground as Kim dashed away at super speed.

"You want to play cat and mouse, Princess? Fine with me." The clone said and gave chase.

Kim knew she had to get rid of the other clones first before she could deal with her darker half. What she needed was a lot of soda and fast! She needed to use her abilities this time. She just had to make sure she wasn't seen while she used them. Instead of holding her speed back, she pushed more on and headed to one place she knew that would have enough soda. Smarty Mart.

She flew into the store faster than anyone could see. As she rant through the store's aisle's, she couldn't help but marvel at how everyone and everything seemed to be frozen in place. She quickly grabbed every soda she saw that she saw, and darted over to the toy section where she grabbed one of the heavy duty Super Soakers. Once she had the backpack tank filled, she ran through the exit, leaving money for the sodas and toy at a register. Halfway back to Bueno Nacho, she had to quickly vear off to avoid running into her clone. Kim continued to run back to Bueno Nacho, knowing it would take her time to do a U-turn and start chasing after her again. But something was off. She could have sword the face of her clone was a chalky white.

She couldn't think about that. When she saw the sombrero of the building coming up fast, she got the water gun ready. Ron was about to be mauled by a mob of Ron and Bonnie clones when she skidded to a stop in front of him and took aim.

"KP?"

"Stand back." Kim said and began to spray down the surroundings clones with thick brown beverage.

As soon as the liquid made contact, the clones began to scream and cry in agony as they began to melt into goo. Kim nailed three other Ron's and two other Bonnie's before she got to the unconscious clones of herself. Acting quickly, she hosed them down in a shower of sugary soda and watched the copies melt into puddles.

"Way to go, KP." Ron said with a smile. "That was all of them, right?"

"No. It wasn't." a strange voice said behind them.

Both turned to see the clone that had been chasing her was now stomping toward them, trying to catch her breath. Her voice sounded different, though. It was like her voice box had been dragged several yards of gravel. As she came closer and closer, her skin kept going from a healthy flesh tone to chalk white. Each time her skin changed, it looked like her face was cracking like stone.

"Bizarre is right." Kim said as she saw the clone shift back to the stone like form, and not back to her normal flesh tone.

"More like Bizarro." Ron said as he heard the clone began to growl with rage.

"Kimmie – you – am history." The clone growled as she clinched her fists.

"Not today." Kim said as she aimed and fired, but only saw soda drizzle out before it stopped all together. "Uh-oh." Kim said, realizing the water gun was now worthless.

"You've got a back up plan, right?" Ron asked her.

"Not really." Kim said to her best friend.

The clone was then struck hard by a black tricked out Mustang, sending her crashing into the wall of Bueno Nacho, causing it to collapse on top of her. Both Kim and Ron looked in confusion at their new rescuer, and released the breath they had been holding when the saw Sherri step out of the car.

"Didn't I tell you to wait inside?" she asked the two teens. "Get in the car, quick!" Sherri told them, ushering the teens inside. "The keys are in the ignition." Sherri told them.

"What?" Kim asked her.

"You need to learn to drive someday." She said as she slammed the door once Kim was in the driver's seat.

"What about you?" Kim asked her.

"I'll be fine. GO!" she shouted.

As Kim and Ron sped off in the mustang, Sherri turned to see a very angry and warped Kim clone rise from the rubble with her mission gear in tatters..

"Bitch ruin mine clothes. Me kill you!" the clone growled.

"You wish." Sherri said as her hands ignited in large bursts of green fire.

With a loud feral yell, she sent a double blast of green comet energy at the clone in an attempt to fry it. She kept pouring and pouring the energy at the clone, waiting for it to turn to ash. When she saw it was burning, she stopped the blasts, convinced it was enough. However, she mouthed an old familiar phrase when she saw the clone stand to full height and looked like it was getting off on the emerald fire burning her. That's when she noticed that only the clone's clothes were burning and not her. The clone was absorbing the energy!

Within a matter of moments, the green energy seemed to turn into a bright white before the clone's body took it in. The nude clone let out a refreshing yell as her skin returned to normal with a sadistic smile on her face.

"Thanks. I needed that." The clone said and laughed as Sherri continued to look at the clone in utter confusion. "Looks like Sherri has a pretty big secret." The clone said to her.

That's when the clone crouched down low before she launching herself into the air; flying faster than anyone could follow. As Sherri just watched where the clone had flown, a sonic boom soon echoed across the sky.

"Holy crap." Shego said to herself and shook her head.

She had just seen two things that were unbelievable. The first being a super powered Kim, and the most disturbing was seeing a naked Kim. What the hell was Drakken thinking, creating a Kim clone with superpowers? What was worse, it looked like he had cut corners again with the cloning. That skin of hers.

She turned and saw the blue van Kim had told her earlier. She instantly recognized it as the mobile lab Drakken had though of. She marched over to the heavily dented vehicle before throwing the doors open, and looked at all of the shocked occupants. Apparently, they had been observing the whole ordeal.

"Dr. D, what have we learned about cloning?" she asked her boss.

"Uh – not to try it?" Drakken asked her.

"Good boy." Sherri/Shego said before she blasted the cloning machine and the DNA augmenter.

"SHEGO!"

"One more word, and I'll personally hand your butt over to Global Justice!" Shego said to him as she removed a remote from a pocket in her pants and activated it.

The hover jet soon touched down not too far from them. Shego and the goons made their way from their escape vehicle while Drakken looked at the sole surviving petri dish. It was an unaltered sample of Kim's DNA. He took a quick look at Shego before he quickly grabbed the sample and put it into his coat pocket.

"Let's go Dr. D, or I'll play Make Drakken Go Ouch." Shego shouted at him.

"Coming mother! I mean – Shego!" Drakken quickly said before leaving the now useless mobile lab.

* * *

"I have to admit, that's one amazing story, Miss Possible." The detective said as he finished taking notes.

"It's the truth, officer." Kim said to him.

"I saw the whole thing. And the missing hair to prove it." Ron said as he rubbed his head.

"But how do you know Dr. Drakken was behind it?" the detective asked them.

"W-when the doors to the van opened – I saw him standing in it." Kim said. What was she going to tell him? She looked _through_ the van? They'd put her in a padded cell in a heartbeat.

"I'll do what I can, Miss Possible. But without any hard evidence, I don't know whether or not we'll be able to arrest him." He said as he put his notepad away.

"Great." Ron moaned.

"Hey, it could have been worse. At least you got out okay." He told them.

"Thanks for listening Detective?" Kim asked, not knowing his name.

"It's Jones. Detective John Jones. If you remember anything else, or he tries something else, just give me a call." He said as he gave the young teen her card.

"Thank you." Kim said as the detective walked back to his car.

As soon as he was in the car, he adjusted the rearview mirror and looked at them. As he gazed at their reflections, his eyes began to glow red for a brief moment or two. He could tell they were telling the truth, which also meant trouble. If the clone that Drakken had created was still alive, that meant no one would be safe. He would have to keep an eye on her later. Right now, he had to start searching. It was times like this he wished he was still home and not a stranger in a strange land.

"Is it just me, or we a magnet for this stuff?" Ron asked Kim as they sat in his backyard.

"What do you mean, Ron?" Kim asked him.

"All this stuff we've been through. Mad scientists, Mystical Monkey Ninjas, and now rabid clones?" Ron asked her.

"I've noticed. Ron, is it worth it?" Kim asked him.

"Is what worth it?" he asked her.

"Putting our lives on the line like we do?"

"You mean saving the world? I'd say so." Ron told her. "Why do you ask?" Ron asked her.

"That clone of me said something. That I tried so much to fit in, that I would have let myself die. Ron, I think she was right." She said to him.

"KP, that was a wigged out clone. She most likely had a screw loose."

"Maybe. But Ron, I still don't have full control over my abilities yet. I've been so worried about blowing my secret and being experimented on. What if we're on a mission and I slip up?" she asked him.

"KP, where are you going with this?" Ron asked her.

"Ron, I love the fact that I've saved the world and helped others. And I want to continue to do it. But until I can control my abilities, I'm too big a risk." Kim said as she looked downward.

"You're giving up? What about Drakken and Killigan?" Ron asked her.

"I'll stop them. With the big things, I'll still do it. Just not in public." Kim told him.

"What about us?" Ron asked her.

"Are you kidding? You're stuck with me no matter what." Kim said with a smirk.

"Pinky swear?" he asked as he held his outstretched pinky finger to her.

"Pinky swear." Kim said and grasped his finger with hers and shook it.

"It's going to be pretty weird, isn't it?" Ron asked.

"Ron, I have a feeling that something bigger is waiting for both of us." Kim said to him as they watched the stars come out as the sun descended and the night arose.

* * *

**Author's Note(s):** The reason I'm ending this chapter like this is because I want my KP/Superman story to have the whole secret identity angle to it. So, I'm taking a little bit of a Smallville angle. Also, sorry about the Texas A&M guy getting the crud kicked out of him. I've got a friend that's an A&M graduate, and this was my way of Zinging her without me getting my butt kicked. Hope you enjoyed.


	4. Secrets Revealed and A Father's Farewell

Invincible

By FAH3

"Amazing. Simply amazing." Drakken said as he looked at the read out on his computer.

He was looking at the resulting analysis before him and had become fixated by it. For over half an hour, he had been sitting there and looking at the data in front of him. For over a year an a half, he kept looking at this data. Ever since the day he decided to run an analysis on that hair sample, just to see why her clone had been so different. Why it was so much stronger, so much more powerful. Now here it was. He was looking at it in the face and couldn't even blink. For a year and a half, he had stumbled onto the greatest find in human history and couldn't help but become completely marveled by it. Living proof that humans weren't alone in the cosmos. The best thing about all of this scientific Holy Grail was the fact that it was all his.

"I hope you're not looking at porn again." Shego said as she walked in on him.

"Hmm?" the doctor asked her.

"You better not be looking at porn again." Shego said to him.

"How dare you assume that I would look at that trash. For your information, I've never looked at any of that filth in my life." Drakken said to his assistant.

"Sure. Then what about last month when I was disturbed from my nap because you were screaming? I walk in and what do I find? You were freaking out because you accidentally came across a she-male site." Shego said and enjoyed watching the man squirm.

"How was I supposed to know what it was about?" Drakken mumbled as he crossed his arms in frustration.

'_I can't do it. It's too easy a target.' _Shego thought to herself, fighting her sudden urge to use a wise crack.

It turned out Drakken had been looking at cartoons a bunch of perverts on the internet had created and posted about Kimmie when she was still saving the world. She knew because she had caught some of the henchmen drooling over the cartoons that had been labeled Kigo. So had Drakken. When he stumbled upon a certain category, he thought it meant he was included. Boy did he get a big surprise.

His screams of finding that site had woken her from a nap and she went to make sure he didn't blow himself up. The blue faced pervert had the nerve to actually try and look down Shego's pants to make sure the world hadn't gone crazy. As a result, he didn't wake up for two days because she had decked him so hard. That little stunt of his earned her four more raises the day he woke up.

"Some of the goons are talking about bugging out again. You better go talk to them." Shego said.

"Why can't you do it?" Drakken asked, not wanting to be disturbed by petty matters.

"Because I'm fine with my pay check right now. Plus, I'm not in a union." Shego told him.

"Since when do they have a union? Damn you, Jimmy Hoffa!" Drakken shouted as he stood and left the lab, mumbling over and over again.

She sighed in relief now that it was quiet again. Sometimes, this job got on her nerves like no one could believe. Maybe she should have stayed being Senor Senior Junior's tutor in crime instead of coming back to him. The pay would have been fantastic, but the sad part was that Junior was developing a crush on her. Sorry, but she didn't date idiots who cared more about their appearance than anything else.

She sat in the chair and thought about taking a vacation again. The last time she had tried was when Drakken tried the whole cloning scheme. Sometimes, she still would feel a chill down her spine when she thought of that clone of Kim. The way Drakken had acted when he had seen the footage of the clone in action, and the way its skin had shifted. What scared her even more so was the way it had seemed to just drink in those blasts she had sent at it. She could have sworn that it – energized her. And it knew her secret. She had been trying to see if she could find it and get answers, but the clone was obviously covering its tracks pretty well. The only thing weird she had found was a giant meteor that had crashed in Abis Abba had been stolen from a science museum.

She needed to relax. Maybe she could find something to buy on the internet. Shego glanced at the large computer screen was about to close the program when she noticed it. On one side, it had a normal human DNA chain. On the left side of the screen was another DNA chain. Shego had to take a closer look at it before she realized that while similar, it wasn't a human DNA chain. Normal human DNA had twenty-three chromosomes, but this other sample had twenty-four!

Shego immediately brought up any and all data the computer had on this DNA chain and began to read. All the data had been checked and re-checked over twelve dozen times and it all came back the same. The DNA chain wasn't human at all. It was – alien. Where the hell did Drakken get a sample of alien DNA? Shego began back tracking through all the records, trying to find out where he had gotten the source. Then she found it. It came from a sample of hair Drakken had acquired. But who was it from? Who was – wait. There it was. When Shego read and re-read the name of who's sample it was, she couldn't help but fall out of the chair in pure shock.

She couldn't breath for a moment, she couldn't even think. It couldn't be real – could it? The hair was from Kimberly Ann Possible! Kimmie was an alien? How? She was human! Or, she looked human. But how could this be? Footsteps were coming down the hallway and getting louder. Drakken was coming back. If Drakken kept this data, who knows what he would do with it. Acting quickly, she stored the data onto a flash drive and quickly pocketed it. If Kim was an alien, she would have to find out on her own.

Drakken was mad. How dare his men unionize! Sure, the pay wasn't always on time and he couldn't afford benefits. But this was world domination! These things needed time! If he could run this place using his drones, he would. There were just too many things going on right now. Like the fact he didn't have enough material to replace all the henchmen.

He sat back in his chair and exhaled a very deep breath. It was times like this he wondered if trying to conquer the world would even be worth it. He glanced up at the computer screen and decided to take joy in his little treasure. He pressed a button on the keyboard to deactivate the screen saver, and frowned when he saw the program had been shut down. Who was at his computer? He quickly called up the program and requested the data he had been looking at, but grew confused when he the machine responded by telling him no such data existed. How could it not be there? He was just looking at it! He kept looking for the data in all the files on his computer, it had to be in there somewhere! But there wasn't anything! No record of the sample, the analysis, or even a hint of it! It was gone!

"What the hell could have happened to it? There was no one in here besides – no. She wouldn't! She couldn't!" Drakken shouted as he checked the logs on the computer. There! A few minutes before he walked in, someone had copied a file on his computer before they deleted the original data. It can't be. His proof that they weren't alone, his trump card, the only thing that proved he was a scientist was now gone. The only proof left of it was now out there in the world and he couldn't find it. He slowly started to growl as his frustration and anger began to mix together in the form of unaltered rage! His fists tightly balled, he slammed both of them against the keyboard and smashing it as he stood and screamed as loud as he could

**"SHEGO!!!!!"**

* * *

She couldn't get out of the car, she was afraid to. She couldn't believe what she was thinking. Here she was, a renowned thief and super villain was afraid to get out of a car and talk to a high school sophomore cheerleader. She couldn't help but laugh a little bit. What a cruel and sick twisted sense of irony. She glanced at her watch and saw that it was almost noon. She knew it was a Saturday, but she should have been out by now. 

As if on que, she saw her walking out of the front door of her home with her friend, Ron, in tow. It was so scary. She looked so much like a normal teenaged girl. Everything looked just like the rest of them. But it was still her, she knew it was. But it did explain some things. Okay, she had to calm down. She had to tell her about what she found, and that revealing a few of her own secrets. Try as she might, she just couldn't make that little voice that was still a hero to shut up.

"How did your dad's doctor visit go?" Ron asked her.

"They were a little concerned about his heart, so they told him he needed to cut back on some of his snacks."

"Okay. So what's on the to-do list today?" Ron asked his best friend.

"Shopping at Club Banana." Kim told him.

"Aw, man. At least the arcade,"

"No arcades today, Ron." Kim said to him.

"Why not?"

"Because the prom's coming up." Kim said to him with a smirk.

"Oh, and you need your best friend's opinion on your dress." Ron said, completely forgetting about the upcoming school dance.

"No. I need my prom date to give me his opinion on my dress." Kim told him.

It took a time frame of two seconds before Ron stopped dead in his tracks and for his eyes to become wide as saucers. Kim couldn't help but giggle when he slowly turned to look at the woman standing beside him. It looked like at any moment, his brain would soon short out.

"D-d-d-date?" Ron said as his voice pitched a few octaves.

"If you want to be." Kim said as she bit her lower lip.

She wasn't sure if that clone of her had her memories or not, but she did say something that made her think. She would do to Ron what she herself had been fantasizing. That really did make her think. Every so often, she had been thinking of Ron in a more Romantic way than just a friend. Was she in love with him? She wasn't sure. But did she care for him enough to try and see if they could be more than friends. Both her heart and mind were screaming for her to take a chance. She had made the first step, now she just had to wait and see what the next one would be.

"Y-you really want me and you to go to the prom together? What about Bonnie and all them?" Ron asked her.

"I don't care what they say. Ron, you've been there for me so many times. You've also been the one that wouldn't let me quit or let – let my – heritage get me down. I want to go with you." Kim said to him.

"You're sure?" Ron asked and earned an elbow in his hip from Rufus.

"Yes, I'm sure." Kim said as she leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

Another giggle emerged as Ron's eyes glazed over and a very wide smile crossed his features. "Booyeah." Was all he said before he almost passed out.

"I guess that's a yes." Kim said to herself as she made him start walking again. Sadly, their moment ended when the sound of a car horn made both turned to look in the street to see who was trying to get their attention. When they saw it was one of the last Firebirds Pontiac produced, painted black, only one person came to both of their minds.

"Hey, Kimmie." The car's occupant said.

"Hey, Sherri. We haven't heard from you for a while." Kim said to her.

"I've been busy with work. Listen, can I talk to you real quick?" Sherri asked the teenager.

"Sure." You know you can."

"Not here. Someplace private." Sherri said.

"Is everything okay?" Ron asked her.

"It – it's girl stuff, Ron." Sherri told him.

"Oh. I'll see you at the mall. Okay, KP?"

"Sure, Ron. I'll be there soon." Kim said as she climbed into the passenger seat of the car and Ron headed to the mall on foot. "So what's up?" Kim asked her older friend.

"Not now. Listen, where's a good place where we can talk by ourselves?" Sherri asked.

"There's a park not too far from here." Kim said. "Is everything okay?"

"You'll find out in a minute." Sherri said as she drove.

* * *

The drive didn't take long at all. The park was nearly deserted with almost all teenagers worrying about the prom. And since it was a Saturday, most kids were watching what was left of the Saturday Morning cartoon line-up. Both had gotten out and walked to almost the center of the park where there were mostly nothing but trees and far from picnic tables and playground equipment. Sherri was leaning against a tree and tapping her fingers against her arm nervously while Kim just sat at the base of another tree across from the older woman. 

"Sherri, what's wrong? I know something is up; you're never this nervous." Kim said, hoping the older woman would open up. The more she kept quiet, the more concerned Kim grew.

"Kimmie, there's something important I need to tell you. I'm just nervous about how you'll take it." Sherri said.

"What is it?"

"You need to take a look at this." She said as she removed a small flash drive from her pocket and handed it to Kim. "You can probably read it using your communicator." Shego told her.

A little confused by what was going on, Kim removed her Kimmunicator from her pants pocket and inserted the flash drive. It didn't take long for the small computer to access and read the data inside of it. When it was done scanning and reading the device, it displayed the information on the small screen. As Kim kept looking at it, her face slowly changed into a look of shock and panic.

"W-where did – where did you get this?" Kim asked her.

"From Drakken's computer."

"Drakken? How?"

"I've got my ways, Kimmie. The important thing is that the data isn't there anymore, and you're holding the only proof of – you know." Sherri said to her.

"You're sure?" Kim asked her.

"I'm positive." Sherri said. For a few minutes, there was nothing but an uncomfortable silence between them. Neither knew what to say or do next. Who would? Not being able to stand the silence, Sherri finally decided to break the silence. "Kim, why didn't you tell me?"

"How was I going to do it? Just say that I'm not from here?" Kim asked her.

"I don't know. When I saw that, it threw me for one hell of a loop. I mean, you look so"

"Human?"

"I still can't believe it." Sherri said to her. She was still nervous as hell as she stood there. "Are there more of you? I mean, here on Earth?" she asked.

"Not that I know of. To tell you the truth, I don't know what planet I'm from." Kim said.

Sherri just became confused by the remark for a second. "How can you not know where you're from?" she asked.

"I was sent here when I was a baby. The only message I've got from my real parents was that I was sent here to be kept safe and that they love me." Kim told her before she snorted. "It's kind of funny. They leave that message, and give me a pad that shows their history but no way for me to understand the language. I can't read their writing, and their speech sounds like gibberish." She said as she removed the flash drive and crushed it in her bare hand.

"Wow." Sherri said when she saw her crush the flash drive. "I didn't know. Sorry." Sherri said. Basically, it sounded like Kim was left on Earth's doorstep. "So, is there anything you can do that we humans can't?" Sherri asked her.

"There's a whole list of them. And I'm still trying to get the hang of them." Kim said. "Sherri, how did you get this?" Kim asked her.

"You won't like it." Sherri told her.

"Please."

Shego took in a deep breath and let it out in a slow sigh before she looked back to Kim. This was going to be the moment that make or break their friendship.

"Do you remember the day you saved me? When I thought I hit you?" Sherri asked her.

"Yeah, I do."

"I had a – a job interview that day, and I got it. The pay was good, and I did a lot of the things I loved to do. But a few days later – I found out my new friend was also a world saving teenager. And I had to fight her." Sherri said as she bit her lip.

"You're Shego, aren't you?" Kim asked her, and saw that Sherri could only shake her head yes. "I always thought you might be. You both always did look too much alike, too many of the same traits, and you kept calling me all your pet names." Kim said.

"I suck at having a secret identity, don't I?" she asked her.

"Pretty much." Kim said, making both of them laugh. "What do we do now?" Kim asked her.

"I wish I knew. Since I took Drakken's prize trophy, I'm probably fired now. What about us?" she asked.

"You mean us being friends?" Kim asked her.

"Yeah."

"I wish I knew. I want to be friends, but you've broken so many laws. I don't know what to do." She said.

"How about I give you a drive to the mall? I mean,"

"Sure." Kim said as she stood up and brushed some of the grass of off her.

As Shego walked to the car, Kim looked back at the broken computer device in her hand. She took one more glance at Shego before she glanced at the broken device and the area between her eyes and her hand began to distort from the heat they generated.

"You coming, Princess?"

"Coming." Kim said as she dumped the melted plastic and metal in the garbage.

"Listen, are we still friends?" Shego asked her before she unlocked the door.

"I think so." Kim said, with a forced smile.

* * *

The drive to the mall was mostly silent, something both couldn't stand. Shego couldn't but help but feel there was now a gap between them. She hated this feeling she felt. It wasn't right. She needed to do something. 

"So – I hear prom's coming up." Shego said.

"Oh. It is." Kim answered, feeling as awkward as her.

"Have you found a date yet?"

"Yeah, I did. I'm going with Ron." She said.

"Stoppable? Just friends again?"

"Nope." Kim said with a small smile.

"Wait a minute. A date? You're dating Stoppable?" Shego asked her.

"His name is Ron, you know."

"I know, but – him? Mr. looses his pants at the top of a hat?" she asked the girl, wondering if her sanity had finally slipped.

"He's a nice guy, She – What do I call you now?" Kim asked her.

"Sherri's my real name." Shego answered.

"Well, Sheri, he's a nice guy. He's always been there for me, and he really does care about me. He – he loves me." Kim said as she kept going over it again and again.

"But here's the most important question, Kimmie. Do you love him? And I don't mean like or appreciate. I mean, do you love him as in the whole nine yards?" Shego asked her.

And that was a good question. Did she truly love him?

One Week Later.

The night was wonderful. There she was, dancing with someone she truly and deeply cared about while wearing a dress that made her feel like a princess in one of the Fairy Tales her mother used to tell her. The music was slow which was fine by her as she slowly danced with her date. Ron.

Ron was so selfless. He never thought of himself, ever. Well, there was that time with the Naco money. But the rest of the time, he always put others first. He never held a grudge against anyone who insulted him. Not even Bonnie. And he was there to comfort her whenever she needed him. He cared for her, he would put his life on the line for her. But did she feel the same towards him? The question Shego had asked her kept playing in a loop in her mind. Did she love him?

"You okay, KP?" Ron asked her.

Kim looked at him, and looked deeply into his eyes. This was someone who didn't care for her because of her status, her looks, or even because she was an alien. He cared for because of who she was. As she looked into his chocolate brown eyes, she could see all the warmth and kindness she had known for so long. She answered her own question when they both leaned into each other and kissed. She knew at that moment, in the middle of the Middleton Prom and in front of everyone, that she did love Ronald Dean Stoppable. More than she thought she could ever love anyone.

"This night is perfect, isn't it?" Ron asked her as he held her close.

"It is, Ron. I hope we're like this for the rest of our lives." Kim said to him.

"I love you, KP."

"I love you too." She whispered to him. She knew that her parents, on Earth and her natural ones, were glad that she had found someone to love her. If only such moments could last forever.

* * *

Traveling faster than any human eye could follow, the sleek black ship was still making its way towards Earth. It was imperative it made it to the planet as soon as possible. Its master was a patient man, but it knew that patience only went so far. It had to make adjustments every so often. But that was to be expected when it had to travel such a far distance at such a fast speed. But it made the calculations to adjust faster than any biological organism could. It was the perfect pilot for this mission. 

The ship began to vibrate and shake erratically. Something had begun to malfunction. It began checking all reading and sensor data to try and find the problem. It wasn't long until it found the problem. The structural integrity field was losing power. It traced all the connections until it realized the bigger problem. The Power core was being drained to quickly. This problem it didn't foresee. He would have to shut down non-essential systems in order to reach its destination. The cryo chambers that it carried must be kept online at all times. The life support could be terminated, as well a few sensors and communication devices.

It wasn't enough though. It began to calculate and crunch numbers and saw its list of options. It didn't have a choice now. He would have to go online and let the automatic navigation take the ship the rest of the way. It knew the system was the most advanced of its kind. The system was created from a combination of Krypton, Kandor, and components of his own design. It wasn't comfortable to let the system pilot the ship when there was still such a great distance left to travel. But it needed to complete its mission. It programmed the remaining systems with the information and periodicals they would need for the remainder of the flight, and then began to shut down its program. For the first time in its existence, it felt emotion. It hoped that when it came on-line, it would be to land the ship on the planet known as Earth.

Senior Year, May.

Kim was so frustrated. Senior year was almost over with, and so far it had been a mixed bag. Her brothers, being as smart as they were, got bumped up to High School Freshmen! Bonnie was the worst she had ever been, she was milking the Tweebs for all the embarrassing information she could get about her, she had to work harder than ever to keep her abilities under wraps, and her father gave her a rotted lemon of a car! The upside was that the Tweebs did turn it to a spanking ride. But she had to be there car monkey. But the one thing that kept her sane was having her boyfriend Ron by her side.

That was the one thing everyone at school still couldn't believe. That she and Ron were dating. She didn't care what they thought, she loved Ron. She was glad they had gone to the next level in their relationship. And she loved the time they spent in the tree house. Ever since they started dating, she had started calling it their Fortress of Solitude. True, he was still a goof and a child at heart; but she wouldn't have it any other way.

Today however, Ron was trapped within the confines of Detention again. She was starting to agree with Ron that Barkin had something against him. This time, all he had done was stand with her in the hall as they always did and he gives Ron detention. Everything was just getting on her nerves.

"Hey K."

"Bonnie." Kim growled as her school rival stopped in front of her in her brand new sports car.

"No car today? What happened? Did it realize what a loser you and your boy toy were and drove off a dock?" Bonnie said. That angered Kim a little bit. Her father had borrowed her car because his was in the shop until further notice.

"That was so funny that I forgot to laugh. I don't need a car to beat you, Bonnie." Kim said, becoming sick and tired of Bonnie's antics.

"Is that so? Then how about a race?" the brunette asked her.

"Bonnie, I really don't have time for this."

"Set, Go!" Bonnie said as she peeled out of the parking lot, leaving a cloud of smoke in her wake. And a very angry Kim.

"Fine. I'll give you a race." Kim said before she disappeared in a blur.

Bonnie enjoyed harassingKim, and had hoped that little show off was stewing right now. The redhead deserved it. She worked her ass off to do the things that Kim could do naturally, and look where it got her. She was second place in everything. And her sisters did their best to rub her face in it. There's baby Bonnie the looser, last born and always in last place. Damn Kim, she deserved to be left in the dirt. She hoped she broke that girl's foot when she drove off. However, she got the biggest shock of her life when she was bout to drive by Kim's house.

"H-h"

"Hi, B." the redhead cheer captain said with a wide smile on her face.

"How the hell did you get here so fast?" Bonnie finally managed to ask.

"I ran." Kim said.

"You always were a freak." Bonnie said and drove off again, making the young redhead groan.

"Showing off a bit; weren't you, Kimmie cub?" her father asked as he walked out of the garage.

"Dad? When did you get home?" Kim asked, surprised to see her father home so early.

"Your mother and I are planning a trip up to the cabin, and we came home early to pack. Kim, we've talked to you about using your abilities in public."

"I know and I'm sorry, daddy. I didn't mean to show off; it's just that when Bonnie starts with all that crap it makes me want to tear her apart." Kim said as she leaned against her car.

"I know, Kim. You can do all of these amazing things and you feel like you would bust unless if you don't use them or tell someone." Her father said, remembering some of the arguments about her powers over the years.

"It's getting really frustrating, dad. I can't keep these hidden forever. I hate lying to so many of my friends about this. I mean, is a bird showing off when it flies?"

"Kim, let me tell you something. When we first found out about your abilities, your mother and I were terrified that someone would find out and take you away from us. But over the years, as I've gotten older, something become a little more clearer. And do you want to know what one of the things I've learned is?"

"What's that?"

"It's that you were put on this planet for a reason. I don't know whose, but it wasn't to make rival cheerleaders eat their words." James said.

"I guess I'm grounded?" Kim asked.

"No. I just want you to think more before you act. Since you have to baby-sit your brothers this weekend, how about I make it up to you by buying supper tonight?" James asked as he hugged his daughter.

"Sounds good to me. Besides, you're not that old." Kim said to her father.

"Flattery will get you no where, young lady." James said with a chuckle as they headed to the house.

"Then how about we race to the back door? Maybe I can beat you now." Kim said with a smirk as she started to walk backwards.

"I think we've seen evidence that you can already beat me."

"Come on, daddy. I'll slow up. Come on!" Kim said as she started to jog, with James following close behind her.

Even though the gate to the back yard was open, Kim flipped over it and landed on her feet as James tried to keep up with her. A smile began to cross his face as he remembered all the games and races they had while she was growing up. He even remembered her fourth birthday. She blew the candle out so hard that he and his wife were showered in frosting and pieces of chocolate cake. He couldn't believe she had grown up so fast. It was like yesterday she was a bundle in his wife's arms and being baptized, and now she was graduating from High School.

His thoughts then drifted to his wife, and how beautiful he thought she was. HE had loved her ever since the day he bumped into her at a college football game. His University was playing against hers, and he fell in love with her as soon as he looked into her eyes. On their wedding day, she seemed to look like an Amazon goddess that came from MT. Olympus just to be with him. And the day they found Kim and when she gave birth to their sons, everything felt complete. More and more memories of his life began to come into his mind, all of them replaying in perfect clarity.

Wait. Something was wrong. Why was he seeing his whole play out in front of him? That's when he felt it. He was almost to the backdoor when he felt it hit. A sharp stab of pain was in the middle of his left forearm. He started to rub it, trying to make it go away when he realized his arm was numb. He couldn't feel anything in it. Then the pain started to move upward and into his chest. Oh God, he was having a heart attack.

"Oh no. Not now. Oh please God, not now. There's too much to do. Kim's not,"

He couldn't breath. Every breath he took was escaping from his lungs faster than he could hold onto. This wasn't fair. Anne, Kim, the boys. Even Ron. They needed him. They –

* * *

"James? James, we need to finish packing if you want to buy everyone supper." Anne called as she came down stairs and put away her doctor's coat. She had heard him and Kim running into the backyard, so he should be in the house by now. "James, we don't have time for games. James?" Anne asked again, wondering what was taking him so long. 

Anne walked into the kitchen, thinking he might have stopped to get a glass of water. But the kitchen was empty. There wasn't anyone in there. Anne started to grow a little more concerned. Something in her gut was telling her something was wrong.

"James?" she called out as she walked to the sink, hoping to see him out the window. She didn't see him anywhere. When she turned to look around the house some more, her eyes saw something in the backyard. She walked to the door, and saw that James was laying down in the grass. Something wasn't right.

"James?" Anne asked as she walked into the yard and looked at her husband. As she knelt down, she realized her husband wasn't breathing. "JAMES?!" Anne screamed as she rolled him onto his back and began applying CPR.

"Mom? What's – DAD!" Kim said and rushed to her side.

"Kim, go call 911! I think he's had a heart attack!" Anne said before she started breathing into his mouth.

"I'm on it!" Kim said as she dashed back into the house and dialed the number. "Hand on, daddy. Please, hang on." Kim said as she did best to control her panic and worry.

* * *

He knew he would find her here. This was the only place she would go to anymore. Through everything that had happened to them in their life, this had to be the hardest thing to help her through. Bumps, scratches, and a bad grade on a test he knew how to comfort. But he was clueless when it came to something like this. Every time he came here, he had to stop himself from crying. He had to be strong though. He had to be strong for her. 

Mr. Dr. P's passing had been hard on everyone, even him. Anne and Kim's grandmother were still so upset that both Kim and himself picked out the coffin. Then when the funeral came, both gave the eulogy and were pallbearers. But it was after her father was buried that she became so – isolated. It was like she was doing her best to be numb. She had enrolled in a community college and was already half way to a Bachelor's Degree. He guessed she had both of her parent's brains after all.

But every free moment she had, she came here. Ron did his best to comfort her, but knew he had to wait for her to open up. He just hoped it would be soon. She couldn't dwell on this for the rest of her life.

"Hey, KP." Ron said as he sat down beside her.

"Hi, Ron." She said, barley whispering.

"Are you cold? It's supposed to start snowing soon."

"I'm fine." She said as she kept looking at the tombstone in front of her.

"I miss him too, Kim. I miss him a lot." Ron said to her.

"Why?" Kim asked.

"Why what?"

"Why couldn't I save him? I could have carried him to the hospital in the blink of an eye. I – could have done something besides talk on a stupid phone!" Kim said as she forced herself to stop from crying.

"Kim, you heard your mother and the other doctors. It wouldn't have made a difference. He was gone before your mom found him." Ron said to her gently.

"I could have done something."

"What could you have done?"

"I DON'T KNOW! BUT I COULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING TO HELP!" Kim screamed as loud as she could. "All these things I can do, Ron. All of these powers, and I couldn't even save him." Kim said as a few tears began to escape and flow down her cheeks.

"Kim, you're only human." Ron said to her.

"You know damn well I'm not." Kim said to him.

"You know what I mean. Kim, when it's time for someone to go– it's just their time. No matter how fast or strong you are; you can't save everybody." Ron told her.

"It still doesn't make the pain go away." Kim said as she turned to him with the tears she had desperately tried so hard to hold back were no falling freely down her face.

"I know, KP. I know." Ron said as he held her tightly. If he could make all of this pain and hurt go away with a wave of his hand, he would.

Kim was no crying uncontrollably. For all these long weeks, she had refused to cry. She had to be strong for her mother and her brothers. IT also made her feel like her father wasn't gone. That he was just away somewhere and he would be back. But now, in the garden of good and evil, the tears she had held back were finally making themselves known to the world. As the tears fell from her face and soaked Ron's clothes and the ground they were sitting on, she finally knew it. She finally accepted it. Her father was gone. He wouldn't be home anymore. She would never see him sitting at the kitchen table, reading his morning paper. She wouldn't come downstairs in the evening and smell his pip as he rested from his long day at work. She wouldn't even hear his threats to shove anyone she dated into a deep space probe. Her father had died, and she hadn't been able to save him.

"If it helps, I think he was able to finish one great thing before he died." Ron said.

"What was that?" Kim asked through her tears.

"He raised one of the greatest women the world has ever known." Ron said as he stroked her hair and tried to help her calm down.

"I'll think I'll keep you around." Kim said as she held the man she loved close to her. He was the one thing she never wanted to leave and the only thing, besides her family, that she truly held dear to her heart.

"Do you feel any better?" Ron asked her.

"No. I don't think I'll feel okay for a while." Kim said to him.

"I'll be here for you, KP. I'll be here." Ron said as he held her.

* * *

_Gotham City_

The old rusted lock wouldn't budge no matter how hard the person on the other end turned. You could hear the grunts and growls of frustration of the person on the other side. Two more times, the person tried to force the lock open as their anger began to mount.

"Screw it." The person said before their fist came through the aged door and turned the lock on the other side.

The door then opened as the person walked in and tossed the fedora she had been wearing on the couch. She shut the door and placed one of her chairs against it so no one could open it. She ruffled her red hair which only went past the bottom of her ears as she let her emerald eyes adjust to the poor lighting. She took a short look out the window and at the city in front of her for a minute or two.

"Damn. What a rat's nest." She said as she walked into what was laughingly called a kitchen.

Here she had all these powers, and this was how far she had gotten. If it wasn't for that – that one set back of hers. She couldn't stay out in the song long at all. If she did, she would start to change again. Every time that happen, she could feel her IQ just plummet. Why was this happening to her? She jerked open the fridge and looked at the top shelf. Right beside the bottles of water and various amounts of junk food was the large green rock she had stolen. She glanced at her hand real quick and saw parts were chalky white and cracked. It was time for refreshment.

She reached in and quickly broke off a small chunk of the meteorite. She closed the fridge door and gripped the glowing green rock as hard as she could. Soon, the crystal began to grow brighter and change to a glowing white. The young woman's breathing quickened, almost like she was having the best sex of her life. A loud groan came from her throat as the glowing stopped and every single part of her began to restore itself and look completely normal. She looked in her palm, and saw that it now looked like a normal crystal. Which meant the little stone she held would earn some more money for her. Thank God some hippies didn't know the 60's were over.

"That's an interesting trinket." A voice said from the shadows of the kitchen.

The young woman didn't jump or was evens startled. She just rolled her eyes as she walked over to a wall, and flipped the light switch on. She turned around and saw the intruder sitting in one of her chairs. He was a tall middle aged white man wearing a suit with a faded tan trench coat covering him. He looked like he had stepped out of an old Humphrey Bogart movie.

"Nice look. Of course, we both know it's not the form you wish to be in." she said as she tossed the crystal in a near by bowl on the counter.

"I fixed us some coffee, but I got tired of waiting." The man said as his eyes emitted a red glow for a moment or two.

"Trying to tap into my head again, huh? Honey, you would have been here a lot sooner if you could do that." She said as she sat in the chair across from him. "So how did you find me this time?"

"One of your former employees was more than anxious to talk. One way or another." The man said as he sipped his drink.

"Are you growing more sadistic, Johnny?" she asked him with a smirk. "You've been chasing me for a while now. Is this where you finally end the chase and turn me in or kill me?" she asked him.

"I haven't decided yet." The man answered as he set his glass on the table.

"Well, you do know what'll happen. As soon as I'm gone, you and the little bitch will be the only two freaks left on this floating rock. At least you'll have something in common. Two orphans with no one to accept them; the last of their kind. Too bad you can't justscrew each other and knock out two birds with one stone." The young woman said with a smirk and saw her visitor's change completely to a glowing red. "Did I just hit a nerve, Johnny Boy?" she asked as her smile widened and picked up the mug in front of her.

"You know that you did." The man growled, his voice sounding less human.

"So, how are you going to kill me?" she asked him as her brain began to try and form a strategy.

"I'm not." He said to her.

"Oh really?" she asked as she brought the cup to her lips.

"You did the job for me." He said to her with a smirk on his face.

"Huh?" She asked before she began to drink what she thought it was coffee. Two, then three gulps went down her throat before her tongue finally tasted the liquid and her eyes shot open. She slammed the mug back down onto the table, spitting its contents out all over the floor. "S-soda?" she shrieked as she tried to vomit the liquid out of her stomach, but she knew it was too late.

"This is where you scream 'Oh what a world,' bitch." The man said as the woman's skin began to fizzle and turn into a green liquid.

"NO! NOOOOO!" she screamed as more and more of her began to melt into a green puddle. Soon, the arm she was supporting on collapsed from under her as her legs began to dissolve away. "You'll pay for this, Martian!" she said before she started coughing up green liquid from her lungs.

"We'll see." He said as he watched the girl melt into a puddle of green goo while his eyes were glowing a bright red.

He exhaled the breath he had been holding when there was nothing more than a puddle in front of him. He took a big gambit by planning this setup, but he couldn't take a life. Even if she was mostly synthetic, he still couldn't do it. Even though he had let fate decide, he knew this would weigh on his emotions for a while. But he had to do it. He couldn't risk something like that woman loose.

He could hear footsteps coming up the stairs. Her screams must have caught someone's attention. He stood from his seat and took one last glance at the puddle. As the footsteps grew closer, his form slowly faded from sight, before he walked through the wall and flew off into the night sky. What was the last Martian to do now?

* * *

**Author's Note(s):** The scene about Drakken finding certain things on the internet was based on a picture I found on Deviant Art by bundycoot. I'll be posting another chapter soon. This one was too long, so I tried to break it up a little bit. 


	5. History 101

Invincible

by FAH3

Kim's eyes bolted open as she shot straight up in her bed, covering her ears as she felt like they would explode at any moment. She was letting out a few moans of pain as she pressed her hands harder against her head. What was it? What was making that sound? It was worst than the sounds of nails on a chalkboard! She glanced up and tried to listen, tried to filter it. It was no use; she couldn't get an exact location. She stood up and started to walk. It was as if this sound was luring her to it.

Kim staggered out of her room and down the hall. Where was she going? She could feel the sound pulling her like a dog on a leash. She had to find it, had to stop it from splitting her skull. She soon found herself down the stairs and on her way to the kitchen. No, not the kitchen. It was the garage. As soon as she was in the garage, it was like the noise was almost deafening. Where was it?

Kim looked all over the garage, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. Her eyes fell upon something she thought she wouldn't look at for a long time. Her father's tackle box. Her father wasn't good at a few things, but he loved to go fishing. But it was glowing. Kim rushed over and grabbed the tackle box. She set it on the hood of her mother's car and quickly opened it, going through the old lures and fishing hooks until she moved them out of the way and into the bigger storage area of the box. She couldn't believe what she was looking at.

Slowly, she reached in and took out the glowing object. As soon as she made contact with it, it silenced and began to glow brighter. It was the pentagon shaped crystal that she had brought home. When her parents revealed the ship she had been found in, she took the pad while her father must have taken the crystal. As it began to glow and she gazed at it, it almost felt like it was –talking to her.

_The Next Day_

A small smile graced Kim's lips as she stood in the playground of the old school. Some of the equipment was brand new while the rest were showing their age. But she mainly kept her eyes fixed to the tree at the back of the fenced in area. That was where her and Ron had first met each other. And it was here that she needed to tell him something important.

"Hey, KP." Ron said as he walked to her.

"Hey, Ron." She said with a smile as he kissed him. "Brings back memories, doesn't it?" she asked him.

"Yeah, it really does." Ron said as he looked at the same spot Kim had been looking not too long ago. "How are you doing today?"

"I'm doing better." She said as she bit her lower lip. She always did that when she was nervous. "Ron, I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" Ron asked her. That innocent look on his face; the one that said he didn't have a care in the world. She knew he didn't have that look on purpose, but it was just making this so much harder for her to do.

"Ron, I'm leaving Middleton." She said to him and glanced up at his eyes.

"Leaving? W-where are you going?" he asked her.

"I'm going North. There's something I have to do. I don't even know the full reason why. All I know is that it involves my real parents." She said to him.

"Your real parents?" Ron asked her. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "How? Y-you're not leaving Earth, are you?" Ron asked, scared she was fixing to leave him forever.

"No, it's nothing like that. I found that crystal that was in my ship the other night. I don't know how to explain it, Ron; but it's like its – trying to tell me something. Whatever it is, it's telling me to go North." Kim told him.

Ron just stood there for a moment, not really knowing what to think about this.

"So when are we leaving?" he asked her.

"Ron,"

"No, KP. We've always done everything together. I've always had your back, and I'm not quitting now. It'll be like one of our old missions." He told her with determination in his voice. She knew he meant every word he was saying.

"No, Ron. You can't. I have to do this by myself." She told him.

"But Kim, I love you. I don't know what I'd do without you." Ron told her as he held her hands. She could see the tears that were forming in his eyes as he looked at her.

"Ron, I love you too. But I have to do this. If I don't, I'm going to wonder about who I was for the rest of my life, and I can't take it. I need to know. Besides, you've got that interview at Gotham University coming up. Ron, I know you can step up when you need to. And I promise that I won't be gone forever." She told him.

"But how long _will_ you be gone?" he asked her.

"I wish I knew. But no matter how long I'm gone, I will never stop loving you, Ron." She said as she kissed him deeply and with as much passion she could put into it. "I'll be back." She told him.

"Then just take care of yourself out there." Ron said as he held her one last time, and cried. He didn't like what was happening, and hated the feeling he had. He was loosing his best friend. For the first real time in his life, he would be alone.

* * *

The cold winds of the North Pole blew with a fury that would make any normal human feel like that the ice was a living creature, sinking its teeth into their skin. But Kim was no normal person, nor was she human. One thick jacket, pants, and a pair of now boots were the only thing covering her body as she walked through the snow covered plains.

For days on end, she had been traveling. She didn't know where this thing was pulling her, but it better be good. She hadn't contacted her family and friends in such a long time; she knew that they were worried about her. She paused for a moment and looked at the frozen wasteland in front of her. There was nothing but the cold ice and snow as the northern lights danced in the sky. For a moment, she questioned her own sanity. What was she doing here? In fact, why was she trying to follow instructions that were coming from a crystal? This was ludicrous.

That's when the crystal started glowing again. She could see the glow that was coming from it through the fabric of her pants. She could it also feel it began to vibrate erratically, like it was trying to escape. As Kim began to reach down for it, she saw the crystal rip through her pants and begin to hover in the air. Kim followed the crystal with her eyes as it floated in front of her, and watched it as it pointed out into the landscape in front of her. What did it mean? Did it want her to walk further? Or – did it want her to throw it? Was that it? She grasped the crystal again, and she could feel her mind telling her to throw it. To throw the crystal in the direction it had just pointed or her.

Right now, she was more than willing to oblige. The crystal had been nothing but trouble since she had found it. Gathering as much of her strength as she could, not bothering to hold back, she reached backwards and hurled the crystal out into the open wasteland. The crystal seemed to flip a few times as it flew in an arc through the air before it straightened itself and began flying on its own accord. Before it finally stopped, it did a barrel roll before it dove downward and burrowed through the snow and deep into the ground below.

The ground began to quake as the crystal dug itself deeper into the ground, shifting the snow and land so violently that it made Kim loose her balance and fall into the cold substance. That's when the ground opened up before, forming a wide canyon. When the canyon stopped forming, the ground stopped shaking and became stable once again. Kim just looked at the crevasse that had just been created as she slowly stood to her feet. What had just happened? Was that crystal a bomb or something? Some sort of weapon? That couldn't be right. Why would her parents give her a weapon?

Kim let out a yelp of fright as a giant pillar of crystal shot out of the ground in front of her, jutting upward into the sky like a bullet out of a gun. Another crystal pillar rose from within the chasm and stretched upward, scrapping against the first as the kept growing. Then another begin to rise, and then another. Several more were erupting from the ground, each one of them rising at a different angle. Some were colliding with the others while some seemed to break through the larger ones. As more pillars of different sizes rose from the ground, they began to take shape! The structure it was forming seemed to stretch into the sky higher and higher, like it was trying to touch the stars themselves. It was almost the same height of the Empire State building before it finally stopped. The massive structure that had formed in front of her was so massive and beautiful; she couldn't even begin to describe what she saw in words. She didn't think she ever could

It was a giant mountain of crystal was in front of her, shimmering like it was a beautiful palace. This was what the crystal wanted to form for her. But what was it? What had that small crystal created? Slowly, Kim made her way to the base of the mighty structure and saw a wide opening. She didn't see any traps inside of it, or ones that she knew of. She only saw what appeared to be a hall way. Deciding to swallow the fear that was building inside of her, she ventured inward. As she walked further forward, she didn't even notice the crystals of the entrance behind her seal the entrance closed. It wasn't long until she found herself inside a massive inner chamber.

She couldn't swear to it, but it actually almost looked like some sort of – command center. She couldn't quite explain it how she knew, but it was more like a feeling. It was almost like she had seen something so similar to this before. It was still all so different to her though, so – alien. As she ventured further forward, part of the platform she was walking on began to shift and change shape. Several of the crystals grew higher and higher up until they took a distinct shape. She didn't know what she was looking at for a moment until she stepped closer. She realized that the object in front of her was some sort of advanced control panel.

Instead of buttons and levers, there were several long cylinders and holes in the panel, with a few holding strange crystal shards in them. Growing more curious about the shape of these crystals, she removed one of them from its holding place to examine it. It almost looked like a large elongated diamond as the light that emitted from the larger crystal pillars shined upon it while the crystal refracted it into several different colors. She gently placed the crystal back into its place, and froze when the lights inside the structure dimmed. It looked like she might have pulled a Ron.

Four larger crystals in front of her began to glow brightly, and started to form an image in front of her. So far, it was only a giant mass of light that didn't take any shape or form that she knew of. But soon, it began to straighten and grew arms and legs. Soon, the mass of light changed and shifted into a crystal clear image of a man in a navy blue jumpsuit with a green cape in front of her. When she saw the shield on his chest, she knew who it was.

"My daughter. You do not remember me, do you?" he gently asked her. Kim, shocked and amazed by what she was seeing, only shook her head no. "I am Jor-El, I am your father." He said with a small smile.

"The knowledge you have been given contains all data of the twenty-eight known galaxies in the universe. This is my gift to you. The knowledge and the history of your people lie before you. I know you have many questions, my daughter. Perhaps in this Fortress of Solitude, we shall find the answers together. So, my daughter. Speak." The image said to Kim.

Kim didn't know what to ask him. She never thought she would be talking to her father like this. She wanted to know why she wasn't with them on their planet, why was she here? With so many questions going through her mind all at once, she used the first question that came into her head.

"W-who am I?"

"Your name is Kara Jor-El. You are the sole survivor of the planet Krypton. Even though you have been raised as a human, you are not one of them." He said to her.

"Survivor?" she asked him.

"Yes, Kara. By this time frame, Krypton has been destroyed for many years. You are the last daughter of Krypton." Jor-El said to her.

"Oh my God." Kim said as she felt the weight and impact of her natural father's words weigh down upon her. "What happened?" she asked him.

"The tale of Krypton's destruction is a long one, my daughter. I will tell you of our fate if you wish." Jor-El said to her.

"I-I want to know." She said. She had come this far to know who she was.

"In our culture's infancy, we were similar to the human race in many ways. After thousands of countless years of wars and bloodshed, we finally abandoned the ways of war and embraced the ways of science. As we explored the depths of space, we soon realized that not all alien cultures embraced the ways of peace. To protect ourselves, we created the Kryptonian Defense Force. They became a combination of military and police units whose purpose was to protect Kryptonian life.

However, as Krypton entered our twelfth age of enlightenment, an uprising began to form." Jor-El said.

"What happened?" Kim asked, listening to her father's words.

"The leader of the Defense Force was elected to serve as a member of Krypton's ruling council. During his terms of service, he grew to believe that the council no longer served the people of Krypton. He saw them as growing corrupt, manipulating the bureaucracy to better serve them and their needs. He believed in this so strongly, that he resigned his seat on the council and began to protest."

"What was his name?" Kim asked.

"His name was General Zod. Many citizens and fellow soldiers began to agree with his views of the council. More and more people became his followers as each month would pass. Zod saw himself as a superior ruler of Krypton, and turned his followers into his own personal army. Zod saw his actions as steps to better the Kryptonian way of life, and began to use various methods of torture and manipulation to try and take control. It wasn't long until a full civil war broke out across our world between the followers of Zod and those who were loyal to the ruling council.

His forces weren't as strong as he had led himself to believe, and the number of his followers began to dwindle during the closing weeks of the war. In a last desperate attempt, Zod led a full scale military assault on the Halls of Justice and remove the council members by force. One of the members of the council learned of the attack, and laid a trap for the attackers. Using the technology of their communications relays, the attackers were soon immobilized and arrested. Because Krypton did not believe in a death penalty, Zod was converted into a ghost like form of energy and banished into the Phantom Zone. A dimensional prison of eternal limbo. The prisoners there would never be able to grow old or starve to death. It was there, that he would remain there for all eternity."

"But what does this have to do with the destruction of Krypton?" Kim asked her father.

"Zod had many followers. One of his most loyal of followers was a scientist named Zor-El."

"Zor-El? Wait, his name almost sounds like,"

"Yes, Kara. Zor-El was my brother." Jor-El answered her.

"What did he do?" Kim asked.

"Zod knew he might not succeed in conquering Krypton. Zod told many of his followers that if he were captured, then Krypton was beyond saving. To fulfill his belief, he ordered Zor-El to infiltrate the Brain Interactive Construct known as Brainiac. The living computer that regulated all of Krypton's systems and maintained the various cities on the planet. To make sure Zod's last wishes were fulfilled, he entered an encryption code of Zod's design. The only way to break the code was with a sample of Zod's DNA.

Brainiac accessed the main geo-thermal power plant of Krypton and out orbiting satellites, and used the energy of the planet itself as a weapon." Jor-El said.

"Oh God." Kim said as she slid to the ground, her head spinning with what she had just learned. Her uncle, her own flesh and blood, was responsible for her being the last of her kind. How could someone do that? It was all so – unbelievable.

"There are many more points of our people's history, Kara. If you choose, you may learn everything you want to know about your heritage. It will take time and patience, but the choice must be yours." Jor-El said to her.

Kim's head was still swimming with what she had found out about her home. In a day, she found out where she was from, and why she was here. She also discovered that she was not only an orphan, but the very last of her kind. Did she really want to know more? She wished she had Ron or her mother here. She also wished she had her dad with her. Jor-El was right about one thing. This was her choice to make. And she knew it had already been made as soon as she walked in here.

"Tell me everything." She said to the image of her father.

"Then your lessons begin now." Jor-El said as several more large crystals came to life, displaying various information of every kind. This would definitely take a while.

* * *

**Author's Note(s):** Sorry for the long history lesson. I just thought I could try to clear up some confussion from the first chapter. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. 


	6. Start of a New Life

Invincible

By FAH3

_Seven Years Later_

It felt itself becoming aware of its surroundings once more. One by one, each of his sub routines and programs were loading back to their full capacity. It seemed like only seconds ago he had shut himself off. A quick check of the known consultations had indicated he had been off line for several cycles now. It also stated that he was no longer in known space.

A brief check on all system functions revealed to him that the power core was almost drained, and several micro generators had already kicked in to keep the two organics alive. He used the sensors to scan the area of space that was listed as Sector 2814 and saw that his destination was reached. He had passed the large red planet known as Mars and was halfway to approaching the single moon that orbited his target.

He automatically began scanning the life that crawled on the world's surface and began looking for any signs of Kryptonian technology. It took him several minutes because he was trying to conserve power, but he found something. There was a large mass in the planet's Northern region that was emitting an energy signature that matched Kryptonian technology. He had obviously found the base Jor-El had created. Wait, something was wrong. He only found one Kryptonian bio-signature on the planet. This query would need further investigation. It wouldn't be long until he was in the atmosphere of the planet. After doing a thorough diagnostic, he began preparing the ship's systems for landing.

* * *

She couldn't help but marvel at the city around her. It had been called the City of Tomorrow, and she could see why. The architecture of the buildings to the stores and the fashions everyone was wearing seemed to almost be out of this world. It had been a while since she had been awhile since she went out into the world, and it felt strange to be thrown back into the mix of things so suddenly. When she visited her mother, she had warned her about being in such a rush. It looks like she might have been right.

"Is this your first time in Metropolis?" the cab driver asked her.

"No. I've been here before, but that was back when I was still in high school." She said as she looked at the large skyscraper they drove past.

"Well, Metropolis sure has changed since then. For one thing, that was Gough Tower we passed."

"The Gough Tower?" Kim asked.

"Yeah. Gough Industries is one of the largest corporations in the U.S. of A.. That was their home office." The driver said.

"Wow. Things have changed." She said to herself.

"So where are you heading?"

"The Daily Planet. I've got a job interview in a few hours."

"Great newspaper. Believe me, I should know. My father used to work in the presses and we'd get a copy of the paper before it went out. That place has been in business since the depression and is still going strong."

"Wasn't it called The Daily Star back then?" she asked.

"Yeah, it was. I see you've done your homework."

"I hope so. It'd be a dream come true if I could work there."

"Then good luck to you Miss."

"It's Possible. Kim Possible." She said.

"Wait a minute. Kim Possible?" the driver asked as he adjusted the mirror and took a look at his passenger. The young woman was wearing a very classy and feminine styled business suit, with her flaming red hair done up in a bun. A pair of horn rimmed glasses sat on her face, giving her the image of an intellectual. "The one that used to save the world?" he asked her.

"That was a long time ago." She said with a smile.

"Wow. You know, I need to Thank You. You saved my cousin Vinny's home town from being flooded."

"It's no big." Kim said as she began to blush. It looked like the world had forgotten about her adventures from her early High school years. She guessed a few people still remembered her.

"If you don't mind me asking, but how come you stopped helping people?" the driver asked her.

"There was one close call that was a little too close. If you know what I mean." She said to him as she remembered the day when she fought those clones. Including her own.

"No need to explain. I was playing for the Stealers when I got out of college. Blew out my knee in my first season. Bunch of the guys on the other team tackled me during a field goal kick."

"Ouch, I'm sorry to hear that." She said as she adjusted her glasses.

"It's okay. Here we are." The driver said as the cab slowed to a stop.

Kim looked out the window and looked at the building in awe. It had the architecture and style of a building from the forties, standing to thirty-five to forty stories tall. Even being on the street and looking up at it, she could still see the giant orb at the top with name of the paper circling it. The first time she had seen it, she thought it was one of the most remarkable things she had seen. She hoped she got a job here.

"How much do I owe you?" she asked as she opened her purse.

"It's on the house." The driver said to air.

"Oh, I couldn't."

"I insist. This is my way of saying thanks for helping my cousin out." He told her.

"Thank you very much." She said as she got out of the car. She retrieved the few things she had brought with her and just looked up at the building again. "Okay, stay calm. Now I just hope I can pull this off." Kim said as she walked through the rotating doors.

All around the lobby area were murals of Metropolis through the ages, with the Daily Planet being the on constant in all of them. There were also several front pages that had been enlarged and set in bronze frames. Each one was a different story that had been huge news during the time. One of them that caught Kim's eye was a black and white photo of a battleship that was completely on fire with the head line 

"THE DAY THAT WILL LIVE IN INFAMY!"

"They really have been around for a while." Kim said as she looked at the framed paper.

That's when her eyes caught something else. It was an issue from the Gotham City branch that had been framed, and the picture it had somehow captured her. On it was a man in a tattered business suit strapped to a large spotlight. The man looked like he had the living daylights beaten out of him while the headline read

"MYSTERIOUS BATMAN CAPTURES CRIME BOSS RUPERT THORNE!"

She remembered hearing about the Batman when she returned home. A masked vigilante had appeared in Gotham City over two years ago and had begun taking down various criminals all over the city. One of the first crime boss' that he took down was Rupert Thorne, the third most powerful crime boss in Gotham City. She thought the guy was a nut for what he was doing while dressed as a giant bat. But she couldn't be one to judge with what she had been planning. She took her eyes away from the headline and made her way to the elevators.

As the elevator doors opened, Kim was greeted with the hustle and bustle of the very large and very active City Room. All through out the room were dozens of desks and cubicles set out all over the room with journalists either working on their computers or talking on the phones. There also a few offices here and there along the walls of the City Room as various mounted plasma screen television sets were broadcasting various stories all over the world. 

She slowly made her way through the news room, trying to avoid the various reporters that were scrambling about like chickens with their heads cut off. She kept glancing about the room, trying to find the office she was looking for.

"Excuse me?" she asked one reporter, but groaned when the reporter ignored her and went about their work.

"Can I help you with something?" a young man about her age asked.

"I hope so. I'm trying to find the editor's office?" she asked him.

"Oh. It's"

"BECAUSE I OWN YOU, YOU INTERN TWIT!" a very obnoxious voice thundered across the room. Just about everyone turned to see a partially heavy set man in his fifties standing over a teenager with a camera in his hands. You could tell the moment was embarrassing for him as the older man dumped a wastebasket of garbage over him. "YOU'RE GONNA WEAR THIS THING ON YOUR HEAD SO YOU CAN HEAR THE ECHO OF YOU SAYING ONE-HUNDRED TIMES 'MR. WAREFEILD ORDERED STRAWBERRY AND NOT STRAWBERRY-BANANA!' YOU HEAR ME JACK?"

"Actually, it's Jim"

"YOUR NAME IS WHATEVER I PUT ON YOUR WORTHLESS, TOO-GENEROUS PAYCHECK, YOU BUM!"

"Please tell me that's not the editor." Kim asked.

"Oh Christ, no. That's Mr. Warfeild, the publisher."

"Does he treat everyone like this?"

"Are you kidding? This is one of his good days."

"Now you listen to me you snot-nosed," Warfeild started before a woman with raven black hair barged through and got in the old publisher's face.

"HEY! His name is Jimmy Olsen, lard ass!"

"Actually, it's Jim."

"Quiet. His name is Jimmy. It's not bum, twit, or snot-nose. You think you're a big shot? Publicly humiliating an employee because you're in a bad mood about a smoothie is pretty small and petty."

"Oh, the great Lois Lane speaks. Didn't you used to be somebody? How come you aren't writing about your mysterious flying angel? Slow news day?" the man asked with sarcasm dripping from his mouth like it were drool.

"Back off, fart wad. You pay us for our work, and not our dignity. I hate bullies, and I'm not going to let an old bastard like you push everyone around just because you're bigger. Primarily around the waist."

"Impressive piece of work, isn't she?" the young man asked Kim.

"She reminds me of an old friend of mine." Kim said with a smirk.

"Well when exactly are you around, Lane? You've been bouncing across the country trying to find out about a gravity-defying guardian angel. Your co-workers have been calling it Lois Lane's Loony Lark."

"That lark has been seen by hundreds of people, including police. The only problem is that he moves too fast for anyone to see." Lois said.

"Yeah, and Andy Kauffman's still alive." The man gruffed.

"If you want to act childish and throw temper tantrums all day, be my guest." Lois said as she picked up the discarded smoothie. "But if you want a serious news organization filled with professionals? Then grow up and act like an adult!" Lois finished as she poured the cold fruit blend on top of the older man's head and smiled as it ran down his face, neck, and down his shirt as well as all over it.

"One of these days, Lane." The old man growled and stormed off.

As the people in the news room clapped and cheered the reporter, she took a graceful bow in front of them as she turned her attention back to the young teenaged photographer.

"Thanks, Miss Lane." Jimmy said as he brushed off a few pieces of shredded paper.

"It's nothing, Jimmy. And call me Lois." She said to him as she brushed a few more pieces of trash out of his hair. "All right guys, the show's over." She said as she walked back to her desk and everyone went back to work.

"What were you asking about earlier?" the reporter beside Kim asked her.

"Oh, right. Which way to the editor's office?" she asked him.

"It's in the back. Begging for a job, huh?" he asked.

"Basically. I'm Kim, by the way."

"Ron Troupe." He said as he shook her hand. "Break a leg." Troupe said as he went back to work and Kim went to see the editor.

* * *

"Possible, huh? Are you related to Dr, Possible?" the middle aged man asked as he put out the cigar he had been smoking,

"That's a complicated question, sir." Kim said with a small giggle.

"Complicated? Oh, right. I mean James Possible." The man said.

"He's my father, sir."

"He is? Wow. It's been years since I've talked to that guy. He helped me kick an old drinking problem of mine. I used to give him a bad time about wanting to work at that space center. How's the old nerd doing, anyway?" the editor asked as he smiled at the memories that surfaced, but noticed how's the young woman's face fell a bit.

"He died several years ago, sir. A heart attack." 

"You're joking. My God, I don't believe it. Sorry to hear that." He said as he looked over her resume. "I've read some of the stuff you've sent in. I have to admit though; it's not the best I've ever read. But one thing I saw off the bat was the potential it had. You're a little rough, but you probably just need some practice." He said as Kim risked herself gaining a little bit of hope at getting a job. 

"But just because I knew your old man doesn't mean that I'm going to automatically give you a job here." He said.

"No, sir. The last thing I want is to be given special treatment." Kim told him.

"You better mean that, little girl. If you're serious about wanting to work here, you're going to have to prove it. The Daily Planet is one of the finest papers in the United States, and I only hire people that are the best and have the drive to be a damn good reporter. For right now, you're on probation. But if you can find me a story, and I mean a damn good one that'll impress me, then I'll think about giving you something permanent." The old man said to her.

"Thank you, Mr. White. You won't be disappointed." Kim said as stood and shook the older man's hand.

"Welcome to The Daily Planet. Damn! That's some grip you've got!" he said as he gingerly examined his hand.

"Sorry." Kim said as she mentally kicked himself.

"CHIEF! You better do something about that sorry excuse you call a publisher before I decide to rip off his head and crap down his neck!" Miss Lane said as she barged into the office and leaned on her boss' desk.

"Perfect timing, Lois. You can meet the new reporter I just hired." The old reporter said as his star journalist raised a questioning eyebrow. "Lois Lane, meet Kim Possible." Mr. White said and pointed to the woman behind her.

"Nice to meet,"

"Hi. Chief, there has to be something you can do about that fat ass." Lois said, ignoring Kim's greeting.

"Lois, he's the publisher. Unless he does something that pisses off the guys above him, I can't do jack squat."

"Bullshi"

"Lois, why don't you take Possible to the new factory Gough Industries is opening in the Industrial District. Show her the ropes, and you can stay the hell out of my hair?" White asked her.

"Chief,"

"Or you can stay here with Warfeild."

* * *

"I hate it when he blackmails me." Lois groaned as she sat in the back of the Taxi with Kim. Bored to tears, she decided to find out what she needed to know about this new girl so she could avoid her. "So where are you from?"

"Middleton, Colorado."

"Never heard of it." Lois said as she glanced out the window.

"So where are you from?" Kim asked.

"Hell if I know. I don't even know what state I was born in. My dad's in the army, so my family and I moved all over the place." She said.

"Sorry to hear that."

"I'm not. Every time I was in another school, it was the same thing. High social status ruled over the weaker, jocks that couldn't pass kindergarten, and cheerleaders that didn't have a brain in their head. So what did you do in high school?" Lois asked.

"Cheerleader captain, actually." Kim said as Lois let out a small groan.

"All of a sudden, high heels don't taste like I thought they would." Lois said to herself. "You said your name was Possible?" Lois asked her, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah."

"I think there used to be some teenager a few years ago with that name. Tried to save the world a few times before she dropped out of sight. I guess she landed in a loony bin."

"Actually, I decided to just live a normal life." Kim said.

"Huh?"

"The nut you were talking about is me." Kim told her.

"That was you?" Lois said, not believing what this kid was telling her.

"Want to call my mom to make sure?" Kim asked as she pulled out her cell phone.

"Aw, crap. I'm batting a thousand today, aren't I?" Lois asked.

"It's okay. Actually, I had a friend that was a lot like you." Kim said.

"Really? What happened to her?"

"I wish I knew. After I graduated, she went her way and I went mine." Kim told her.

"Well, let me give you a piece of advice. If you're going to make it as a reporter, don't trust anyone. Friends are a luxury you can't afford." Lane said to her as the cab slowed to a stop.

"That's a little cynical, isn't it?" Kim asked her as they exited the cab.

"Believe me honey, they're words to live by. In this town, you can meet someone who you think is Mr. Wonderful. He wines and dines you, then he does his best to make you feel like a princess. Then you wake up one day to find that's he's gone and so is every cent in your bank account." Lois said as she paid the driver and made their way into the gathered crowd of reporters.

"Ouch. Past experience?" 

"Nope. My sister's ex-boyfriend." Lois said as they squeezed through the tightly packed crowd and made their way to the front to see the festivities. 

At the entrance to the new factory was a large stage with a huge yellow ribbon acting as a road block. On the stage was a large podium as well as a table with a large pair of elaborate scissors. On the podium was a large black and green G that was designed to look similar to the symbol of Ying and Yang.

"So what's the deal with this factory?" Kim asked Lois.

"Gough Industries is supposedly going to be one of the first companies to manufacture cars with a hydrogen fuel cell. Supposedly, the profits are being donated to various charities." Lois told her.

"Sounds impressive." 

"Don't be. Rumor is that the head honcho has her hands in a few shady deals here and there. Speak of the devil." Lois said as a woman in a black and green business suit began to approach the podium, accompanied by a smaller man wearing a black pinstripe suit and wire framed glasses with thick lenses.

Kim saw the woman was tall and had an athletic build, but also had her curves in all the right places. She had a mane of raven black hair that went to her waist and emerald green eyes as she forced a smile on her black painted lips. Wait, Kim knew this person. In fact, it was hard not to recognize her.

"Sherri?" Kim asked herself.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen of the press. As I'm sure all of you know that today begins the production of an automobile that will be kinder and safer to the environment. With the introduction of the Triton, we hope we begin the process of trying to reverse the damage that we've caused to our planet. Gough Industries is proud to be one of the first pioneers in this new technology, and one of many to try and slap some sense into the people of not just the United States, but the world. After all, this is the only home we have. So we better star taking care of it." The woman said and took the large scissors in her hand.

As the business woman made her way to the ribbon, Kim's ears began to pick up a strange sound. Kim tuned out all the noise around her and focused on the one sound. From what she could tell, it was coming from behind the stage. Kim began to focus her eyes and saw the stage begin to fade away. Kim let a small gasp escape her lips when she saw an eighteen wheeler with a trailer attached to it begin to make its way toward the stage at full speed!

"SHERRI! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Kim screamed as loud as she could.

The business woman stopped suddenly when she heard the cry. She turned her attention to the crowd so she could try and find out who had just screamed her name. No one had called her that for years. As she did, a large Gough Industries truck tore through the stage, turning it into kindling as everyone else jumped out of the way before it killed anyone. As the truck drove away, the crowd of reporters began acting on the sudden story like buzzard going after a freshly killed corpse.

"Miss Gough! Miss Gough!" a man screamed, making the woman look towards the factory. That's when she saw one of her board members, Alice Siegel, limping toward her with a very nasty gash on her forehead.

"Alice! What in God's name happened?" she asked as she jumped off what was left of the stage and ran towards the injured woman.

"They were armed. D-disguised as factory employees. They made of with twenty fuel cells." The woman told her.

"Off the assembly line?"

"No. The prototypes we were trying to hide." Alice said to her before she fell to her knees in Miss Gough's arms.

"Dear God in heaven. If those rupture, we're all screwed." Miss Gough said as the full force of what had happened began to hit her. Little did she knew was that Kim had heard every word.

"Kim! Kim, are you all right?" Lois asked her.

"Yeah, just caught a little off guard." Kim said. "I'm going to go call the cops, okay?"

"Good idea. I'll stay here and see what happened." Lois said and began rushing to Miss Gough with the other reporters.

"I just hope nobody's watching." Kim said to herself as she ran into a secluded loading area while she pulled her shirt open, revealing a red pentagonal shield with a large stylized S in it.

* * *

The driver of the truck pulled the thick ski mask off of his head, shaking his dirty blonde hair into shape while he drove. A small grin was on his face as two of his accomplices began to rip off the factory uniforms they were wearing.

"I can't believe we did it." The man in the passenger seat said.

"What did I tell you boys? It's like taking candy from a baby." The man said with a slight Australian accent while he pulled out a large walkie talkie. "This is Corbin. I've got the package and I'm en route to the drop off. Over."

"_Very good, Mr. Corbin. Every thing will be ready when you arrive with the package."_ The voice on the other end said.

"Copy that, Corbin out. I told you boys, Smiling John Corbin never fails a job." The man said as he increased the speed of the truck.

"Boss, we've got the cops on our tail!" the armed man in the back said. 

"Oh we do, do we? Well Mack, I think we should show the police what we think of them." John said.

"Right, boss." The thug said as he opened the passenger door and began to move along the side of the cab.

* * *

Above them, a lone figure kept an ever vigilante eye kept an eye of them as their truck roared down the highway. A brief scan showed several strange batteries that were the size of a Dodge Neon, but they weren't secured. The figure didn't know how stable the batteries were and couldn't risk anything. There had to be a way to safely detach that trailer from the cab.

As the truck continued to move down the highway, three police cruisers began to catch up to it with their sirens blazing. Their arrival just added more difficulty to the situation since the figure had done their best to keep their existence a secret. The figure's eyes widened when one of the thieves finished walking along the side of the truck and landed in the gap between the trailer and cab with a loaded automatic rifle. Secret or not, innocent lives were more important.

* * *

The masked gunman was nervous as he tried to keep his balance. One slip and he would either find himself falling onto the road, or being crushed by the tires of the truck. After making sure the ammo was secured and the gun was ready to fire, he slowly began to lean out to see how many cops were following. So far, it looked like there were only three cruisers. In a little bit, all three cars would join the rest of the heaps in the local junkyard. 

Several shots were fired at random, half striking the concrete while several other began to puncture the hoods of the cruisers. The driver and his partner in the right cruiser kept trying to duck down every time the thief fired at them, and still try to keep following. The thief fired another round at them, making them duck down in their seats quickly. A few more bullets punctured the hood and shattered the glass of the front windshield before a stray round took out their right front tire. 

The driver tried to maintain control of the car, but the missing wheel was giving him more difficulty than he had thought. He had to jerk the steering wheel hard to the side to make sure he didn't hit the other cruisers, then quickly jerked it the other way to try and avoid a mini van that had been driving behind him. The car went into a spin, causing the driver to panic and he hit the brake one moment and the gas the next. Before either officer knew it, they were crashing threw a cement guard rail and began plunging several stories to the ground below. Both men began screaming for their lives as the world around them spun and rushed by them faster than what they wanted. Broken glass and stale coffee was flying past them and around them with each turn. Both were sure that this was it, they were going to die.

The car stopped spinning as both heard a loud "THUD" echo through the cab. Both looked out their windows and saw that their fall had actually slowed down dramatically. Both remained still and silent, not sure of what was happening or what to do. The car was soon set on the ground again, slowly and carefully. Not too afterward, both officer saw a blue and crimson blur fly past them and renew the chase with the rogue eighteen wheeler.

"Joey, did I just see a big blue bird with bright red boots?" the driver asked his partner.

"I don't know. But I think I'm going to need a drink – and a new pair of shorts." The officer in the passenger seat said as he felt a strange feeling in the seat of his pants.

* * *

"Did I just see that?" the thief in the passenger seat asked as he looked in the rear view mirror.

"Not bad for a newbie. Keep it up!" Corbin shouted to the man in the back. The smile on his face never left as he heard the constant barrage of gunfire. He knew how to pick a man for a job just by gut instinct, and it always worked out for him. His smile finally faltered when he heard hit the back of the cab, HARD! "Is everything all right back there? HEY!" Corbin called out, but didn't receive any answer. "Check to make sure he's still there." 

"Got it." The thief said as he removed a pistol from his belt and cocked the hammer back. Corning kept his eyes glued to the road, glancing every so often back to the accomplice that was leaning out the window. "Boss, I think he feAAaaaaa-"

The sudden strange sound made Corbin turn to the passenger side and saw that the seat was completely empty. There was no sign of his accomplice anywhere. What happened? Did he fall? Wait, he couldn't have fallen out. He wasn't completely leaning out the window. And if they had hit something at this speed, only half of him would still be in the cab. So what the bloody hell happened? 

* * *

After leaving that thug out to dry, the figure quickly returned to chasing the truck. She had to watch her speed as she flew through the maze of traffic. One false move or a quick side glance, and she could end up flying through a station wagon. She also had to make sure she didn't rupture those prototype fuel cells. If those things were anything like a hydrogen bomb, they would really be in trouble. She didn't want the driver to see her. If he did, he might try something stupid and blow everyone up. 

She lowered herself closer to the asphalt as she began to shorten the distance between her and the truck, putting her out of the viewing range of the side mirrors. Quickly and quietly, she flew alongside the trailer and quickly merged under it. With her out of his line of sight, she could try and get this thing away safely. She looked to where the trailer was joined at the truck, and prayed this would work. She placed her hands and part of her back against the truck and lightly pushed, letting the weight press against her body. She looked back to the joint, and began to concentrate. 

Her eyes began to glow a bright orange as a wave of intense heat emerged. Focused like a laser pointer, more and more heat was fired at the joints until the began to glow a bright read, and quickly turned into a white hot orange. The now soft and unstable metal began to drip and quickly run like melted yogurt. She could feel the weight of the trailer now fully resting against her body as her eyes returned to normal. She then gave a swift and hard push upward. 

* * *

Corbin suddenly felt the truck jolt, almost sending him into the guard rail. Because of his speed, he was wondering all over the road. He slammed into the side of one car, sending it crashing into the divider of the highway and an exit. 

Corbin was able to regain control of the truck, steadying it as he tried to calm his nerves. That's when he saw a large trailer that was flying over the highway and off to another part of the city. More specifically, it was the trailer he had stolen! Corbin reached through the window and adjusted the mirror to check. The trailer was gone! 

"Son of a bitch! How the hell does a trailer detach and fly off?" 

Wait a minute, it flew? How the hell was it flying? That was impossible! As Corbin turned back to the road, his eyes widened when he saw a woman standing in the road! He slammed on the brakes to try and not hit her, but it was too late. He was going to hit her. He could hear the rubber skidding along the asphalt and saw that the girl was no longer in sight. 

To Corbin's disbelief, he felt his body lurch forward and hit his head against the windshield as the big rig suddenly was brought to an immediate stop! Corbin's body slammed backward against the seat as he felt pain flood his head and felt something wet begin to drip down his face. What had happened? He opened his eyes and saw that the front end was crushed! It looked like it had hit something all right. It was just something harder than the truck itself. People were gathering around the rig to see what had happened; he could see them through the haze of smoke that was coming from what was left of the engine. This was not good. He reached down to undo the seat belt, and found it wouldn't budge. This was really bad. A perfect streak of seven years was quickly going down the proverbial toilet faster and faster by the moment. What else could go wrong?

The door to the driver's side was suddenly ripped from its hinges, exposing the confused and stuck thief. He turned and looked through his blood soaked face to try and see what could have done such a feat. His confusion grew when he saw a red headed woman, facing him, wearing a pair of blue tights, a pair of red gloves, red boots that went to her knees, and were made in a strange design, and a gold belt that fit around her wait. The only thing stranger than the look of the outfit itself was the red and yellow pentagonal shield with a large S in the middle of it.

"I think this is your exit." She said to him with her voice filled with seriousness.

"Beat it, kid. This is no place for little girls to play." Corbin sneered as he tried to undo the belt again. "What the hell?" Corbin shouted as he felt the seat jerk and begin to move.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing, and neither could everyone that had gathered there. With only one hand, she had ripped the seat free from the truck and was holding it over her head. If Corbin's eyes were to grow any larger, they would roll out of their sockets. And the woman that was capable of doing this amazing show of strength only had a small grin on her face. 

"What were you saying again?" she asked him.

"N-nothing." Corbin squeaked.

"I thought so." She said as she tipped off one of the exhaust pipes of the truck and dropped Corbin to the ground. 

Turning her full attention to the crook, she put the pipe behind him and wrapped it _around_ him. The thief's arms were now held securely against his torso, unable to squeeze them free. When he tried to stand, he found that his feet were slipping against the road. Was he sitting in a puddle of oil? AS he looked down, his temper began to flare as he saw that the soles of his shoes had been melted.

"The cops should be here shortly. How about you be a good boy and wait for them before I put you in time out." The redheaded woman said with a smirk. 

"You don't know who you're dealing with!" Corbin growled.

"Do I? If you want a rematch," the woman said as she began to hover five feet in the air, making everyone gasp in awe and wide eyed wonderment. "all you have to do is look up." She said as she flew off into the skies of Metropolis, and disappeared with the echoing sound of a sonic boom.

* * *

"CHIEF! I've got one hell of a story for you!" Lane shouted as she stormed into her editor's office. "It turns out there was a,"

"theft at the new factory?" the old editor asked her.

"Let me guess, you heard it over the police scanner?" Lois asked her editor, almost bursting to tell him her scoop.

"Actually, no. Our new staff reporter sent it in not too long ago." Perry said to his ace reporter and enjoyed the look on her face. He knew there was going to be hell pay later, but it was worth it to see her smug look being wiped off for the first time in years.

"Do what?" she growled.

"You heard me. It was a little rough, but the story is going into the evening edition." 

"DO WHAT?!" Lois screamed, making everyone in the City Room flinch.

"Oh crap. Hit the dirt!" Jimmy shouted as a very angry Lois Lane stormed out of the editor's office and locked her eyes onto the young redhead that was coming off the elevator. It was like a scene from the Terminator as the more experienced reporter stalked in the direction of the young woman with no sign of emotion in her face. "How did you do it?" Lois asked her.

"Do what?" Kim asked her co-worker, confused by the question.

"How the hell did you file the story about the theft before me?" Lois asked her. Some of the other reporters would swear that they could see venom was dripping out of her mouth. Kim on the other hand, simply pulled out a small blue device that was the size of an old palm pilot.

"My old Kimmunicator might be out of date, but it's still pretty good with sending e-mails." Kim said as she set it on her desk.

"Huh?" 

"It's a super computer that a techno wizard friend of mine invented. You're looking at the first computer that had a properly working speak and type." Kim said. "Besides, you said trust no one." 

"So you go call the cops, write up the story, and submit it before I can even get a chance to?"

"Yes?" Kim asked her, not sure what to expect.

"Kid, I think we're going to get along just fine." Lois said with a huge grin. "Welcome to the Daily Planet." She said to her before she walked off.

"I'm confused. The last guy that tried to out-scoop her almost got thrown out of a window." Ron Troupe said as he and Jimmy came out from hiding under a desk.

"I don't know. It must be a girl thing." Jimmy said as became thankful he was around cameras all day.

* * *

The power to his ship was lower than he had hypothesized. He had tried to pilot the ship directly to the base that had the Kryptonian signature, but the thrusters weren't functioning properly. He kept having to make several more corrections, but his landing would still be off. The best he could do was several hundred miles away from the signature. Once he landed, he would have to find a way to adapt to the environment if he was to begin its search. 

Soon, its sensors began to tell him the ship's hull was rapidly beginning to cool as it broke through the thick atmosphere. Entry into the world's bio-sphere was successful. Landing thrusters weren't guaranteed to work, but he had to try. It assumed manual control of all ship functions and tried to steer. Its calculations were flashing through its mind faster than any known living organism, but it wasn't fast enough. He felt the ship jerk and rock as it hit the frozen substance and skid to a stop. All sensors did an immediate sweep of the area. The signature was two-hundred miles north-east from its present location, but it would not be able to function properly in the current conditions of this region. Wait, there were two bio-signatures en route to its locations. Bi-pedal, central nervous system, carbon based. Obviously it was native life forms.

* * *

"What do you think it was, John? A meteor?" the man in the thick red parka asked his partner.

"I don't know. The last meteor that I know of was the one that hit Go City all those years ago." John replied as they marched through the thick snow.

"I think it's not a meteor." 

"What makes you say – Sweet Jesus." John said as he looked and saw the large ship that was sunken in the middle of a melted patch of snow.

It just sat there, like a large black diamond. Even thought it had just crashed after passing through re-entry, it looked like it had been polished to a high finish. There were several different symbols on it, with a strange stylized Z appearing on it several times. It was obvious to both of them that this thing was no meteor. With curiosity dominating their minds, they slowly started to movie forward as they looked at the strange thing in front of them.

"I can't believe what I'm seeing. It's a real UFO."

"Roger, this is just like Roswell." John said to his co-worker.

"Do you think we get some kind of reward for turning this thing in?" Roger asked.

"Are you an idiot? As soon as we call any government, they make us disappea,"

"John? John, what's wrong?" Roger asked when he saw that his friend wasn't moving. As he made his way to the other side of the ship, he face slowly took on a look of disbelief that was mixed with horror as he saw a strange robotic arm sticking out of the ship and impaling John. "Oh Christ!" 

The arm retracted itself from John's body, letting his body fall into the snow as the arm disappeared inside the ship. Roger turned to run away, to get away from the thing they had found. The want and need for survival was the only thing he was concerned about as he tried to run through the thick snow. All those thoughts and instincts quickly turned into panic when he felt something wrap around his ankle and jerk him off his feet. The next thing Roger knew was that he was hanging upside down in the air, and was looking at a smooth metal head with a visor acting as a pair of eyes and three lights on the forehead that formed a strange triangle. It's arms were four metal tentacles, and it's legs looked like o robot version of a pair of legs from a road runner.

"Don't kill me! Don't kill me, please!"

"_Where – nearest – native outpost?"_ it asked, sounding like a deeper and rougher version of HAL from the movie 2001.

"T-that way. Half a mile south-west." Roger said as he noticed the thing look in the direction he had just pointed. "Please don't kill me." Roger whimpered. The machine looked at Roger again as he cried, tilting its head in curiosity.

"_If – help me. I – let you – live."_ The robot said, still learning the language the creature he held was speaking.

"O-okay. I-I'll help." The man said to his captor. 

That's when the machine proceeded to the destination his captive had pointed to. The more it learned about the inhabitants of this world, the better situated he would be when he began to search for the Kryptonian bio-signature. After he investigated the Jor-El's base of operations.

* * *

Kim was smiling like a cat that had just finished eating the canary as she rode in the elevator. It felt good to finally have a job. With the story she filed yesterday, it made it a done deal. Here she was, in Metropolis and working at one of the most widely read newspapers in the world. Not to mention with her knowing about events as they happened, she could easily do her other activities. After she got off work alone, she didn't believe what all she did last night. Two car thefts, a mugging, a bank robbery, and she helped get a cat out of a tree. Of course, that was after she helped a crashing 747 land. She tried to help the plane as fast as she could so nobody would be able to see her, but the exact opposite happened. She just prayed it wasn't the first thing she was going to see this morning.

The doors opened once again to the bust City Room once again, and Kim felt just as excited as she did yesterday as she walked into the chaos as she put her long hair in a simple pony tail. She noticed how people usually wore corporate casual, if not just casual to work, So this would give her a little bit of liberty with her clothes, IT was a pain in the butt to wear a pair of tights underneath her clothes. To try and get away with it today, she wore a long sleeved blouse with a pair of slacks. They were easier for her to take off in a pinch. One of the things she would have to do is find a good hiding spot to place her uniform so she could wear more clothes she was comfortable with.

"Hey, Middleton!" the familiar voice of her co-worker, and hopefully new friend, Lois Lane called out to her before she reached her desk. "Perry's got a staff meeting he wants you in on." She said.

"How bad are these meetings?" Kim said as she placed her purse on her desk and took out her pen and a notepad.

"Not that bad. Last time, only three people died and only one went insane." Lois told her as they walked into the editor's office.

"Sounds similar to one of my old high school classes. The teacher was a soldier in the army."

"He must have been fun." Lois said, remembering times with her father when he was still in active service.

"Loads. He was also the principle."

"Ouch." Lois said with a small laugh.

"If you two are done with the girl talk, Can we get this meeting started?" Perry asked the two while the other reporters snickered. "Have any of you read the morning editions of our paper, or our competitors?" Perry asked, and seeing that everyone was shaking their head no. "Then let me enlighten you." He said as he started reaching for a stack that was on his desk. Each had a picture of Kim in her Krypton designed uniform.

"Now look. The Post: It flies! The News: Look Ma – No Wires! The Post: Blue Bomb Buzzes Metropolis! The Planet: Caped Wonder Stuns City! We're sitting on top of the biggest story of the century! I want to know the name of this flying – whatever it is! Does she have a family? What does the S stand for? And most of all, who the hell is she? I want this thing to go with the Daily Planet like Politics and Corruption! Whoever lands this thing will have written the biggest story since – since – since God talked to Moses!!" Perry said and took a breath as his face looked similar to a ripened apple. "What are all of you standing around for? GO!" Perry shouted, and made everyone rush back into the chaos of the City Room. "Possible! I need to speak to you for a minute, and close the door." Perry said to the newest recruit.

"Last hired, first fired." Troupe said.

"Would you guys knock that off?" Lois asked them.

"Ten bucks says she gets canned." Jimmy said to the other reporter.

"I can't believe you two. A brand new reporter, and you're making bets on how long until she out of here?" Lois asked them with a look of disgust. She then took one more glance at Perry's office as Kim closed the door and turned back to her co-workers. "Twenty says she stays." Lois said as she fished out a twenty dollar bill from her pocket.

"Is everything okay, Mr. White?" Kim asked as she took a seat in front of his desk.

"I hope so. It seems that the head of Gough Industries wants to make a statement about the theft yesterday. The strange thing is, that she asked for you and Lois personally." Perry said.

"She did?" Kim asked him.

"Yes, indeed. Now Possible, I've been a reporter for almost thirty years, and I need to know. Is every part of that story you wrote based on the facts? None of it made up?" 

"No sir. Everything in it is the truth. I would make up something like that." Kim said; feeling a little insulted that her new boss would ask her something like that.

"I'm just making sure. When it involves Sharon Gough, we've got be on our toes."

"Why's that?" Kim asked.

"She's a very shrewd, and a very cut throat business woman."

"_That sounds like Shego all right."_ Kim thought to herself.

"She's also been investigated several times. There have been several accusations against her on insider trading, illegal business deals. Even in being an arms dealer. So when you and Lois leave to go talk to her, I want you to be careful. I don't know what cards are up her sleeve or what she's planning next. Okay?" Perry asked her.

"Got it." Kim said as she stood up to leave. "Anything else?" she asked him.

"Yeah. Tell Lois I got Warfield off of her back for the moment. But I'm not always going to be able to pull her ass out of the fire!" Perry said loudly as Kim left.

"You heard that, right?" Kim asked her co-worker.

"Yeah, but he says that all the time." Lois said as she grabbed her purse and collected her winnings from a very sour faced Jimmy.

Lois and Kim stepped off the elevator and walked down the black marble floor of the top story of Gough Tower as Kim examined the design of the building. The tallest building in Metropolis, and it looked like no expense had been spared in its design or its construction. The way everything looked, you could almost swear that it was royalty that was living in the building and not the owner and founder of Gough Industries. 

* * *

"So she lives here, and works here? Talk about taking your work home with you." Kim said as they walked to the secretary's desk.

"I know. I just hope she forgot about my last interview with her." Lois said.

"Should I be scared to ask?" 

"I found it hard to believe that someone like her would set up a charity where she wouldn't get a few deductibles on her taxes, and brought up the rumors about her being involved in a few shady business takeovers. That's when I was introduced to her bodyguard named Mercy."

"I'm guessing she wasn't any girl scout."

"Only if the Marines ran them." Lois said as the secretary looked up at them and popped the bubble she had been blowing with her gum.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"We're from the Daily Planet." Kim said as she showed her press ID to the young woman.

"Your boss wanted to talk to make a statement about the robbery earlier." Lois said.

"Just a minute." The secretary said as she picked up the phone. She whispered a few words into it, making sure no one could hear her. After a few more seconds, she hung up the phone and looked at the two new visitors. "You can go in, but she has a meeting in a couple of minutes." The young woman said as she pressed a button on her desk that unbolted the locks on the large onyx doors that had green trim.

The inside of the office was as large as the Daily Planet City Room, with most of the walls in the back being nothing but large windows that gave a magnificent view of the entire city. There were a few chairs and sofa in the middle, and a large sleek black desk in the back. Off to the sides of the office were large fish tanks that had just about every type of known exotic fish known to mankind. That's when the Miss Gough stood from her desk and walked to greet her new visitors.

"Miss Lane, so nice to see you again." Miss Gough said with her voice full of sarcasm.

"Really? I thought you had been hoping I drove off a bridge somewhere." Lois said in response.

"I know that I'm not that lucky." She said as she took a good look at Kim. "You look familiar. Have we met before?" she asked the young woman. 

"I'm not sure. Then again, I do have one of those faces." She said, using her manners. 

"Maybe. I'm glad you both could arrive. I wanted to let the public know about the attack. Apparently, they had been planning this for a long time. Ever since the factory broke ground." Miss Gough said as she walked and took a seat on one of the leather sofas.

"I didn't know the police did such fast work." Lois said as she and Kim sat on the other sofa, and decided to see if she could push the business woman's buttons.

"They just informed me not too long ago. I wanted to assure my investors as well as the citizens of Metropolis that production is still on schedule. I'm making sure that no one intimidates me or my business." She said.

"Did you find out what they tried to steal, or why?" Kim asked her.

"They took several prototype fuel cells. We kept them to see if we could make any improvements on our current ones, or see if we could take something from them and put them into the current cell we use." Miss Gough said.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Kim asked.

"It is; which is why we had them under tight lock and key. This whole incident is requiring me to do a more extensive background check on my employees, and I'm afraid some may loose their jobs because of it."

"You don't seem too upset about it." Lois said.

"Despite what you think, Miss Lane; I don't like the idea at all. But in business, I've learned that you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. This was supposed to open up several job opportunities, and now I'll have to limit the staff in order to make sure there isn't a repeat of this incident." Miss Gough said as Miss Lane began to weigh on her nerves.

"Okay. Well, what about you purposely sabotaging your competitors in order to get their military contracts?" Lois asked.

"I think this interview is over." Miss Gough said as the doors to the office opened as a tall slim woman with an athletic frame stepped in. She wore the uniform of a chauffer with her dirty blonde hair cut to just below her ears. She cracked each knuckle one by one before balling her hands into a fist with a small glare on her face. "Mercy can show you out." She said as the reporters stood.

"I can take a hint." Lois said as they begin. 

"One minute, Lois. Do you mind if I talk to your friend for a little bit?" Miss Gough asked.

"I thought you were already sleeping with Butch here." Lois said as she pointed at Miss Gough's Bodyguard.

"Why you,"

"MERCY!" Miss Gough shouted, causing the woman to come out of defense mode. "I just want to warn her about what kind of company she's keeping." 

"Watch your head, kid." Lois whispered as she left the office and Mercy closed the doors.

For several seconds, both stood facing each other without saying a word.

"So, what did you need to speak to me about?" Kim asked, not sure what to say.

"So? So? You haven't seen your best girlfriend in seven years, and all you can say is so?" Miss Gough asked her as her familiar self began to surface. "I knew that was you that told me to look out."

"Oh, now you recognize me." Kim said as the two old friends hugged each other.

"Sorry about that, Princess. I have to act like I'm a super bitch whenever it comes to business stuff. So where the hell have you been?" Sherri asked the young reporter.

"I did a lot of self exploring. I also learned a lot about my family." Kim said to her.

"You mean?" Sherri asked as she pointed up.

"Yeah. What about you? I mean, I just found out your one of the super rich?" Kim asked her.

"I invested the paycheck's from Drakken, and was able to start a small company." Sherri said.

"Small? You call this small?" Kim asked her.

"You think it's a little over the top?"

"Just a bit." Kim said with a chuckle.

"Speaking of over the top." Sherri said as she walked to her desk and showed her today's copy of the Daily Planet. "Imagine my surprise when I pick up a copy of the Planet and not only do I see my old friend on the front page in a pair of tights, but that she wrote one of the articles?" Sherri asked her.

"It's the only way I could think of using my powers in the open, Sherri. I got tired of hiding but I wanted to keep my family safe." Kim said to her.

"So you're trying the old secret identity routine, huh? Princess, it isn't easy trying to keep up with one of those. Believe me, I know." Sherri said.

"No offence Sherri, but you didn't do a good job of trying to keep one back in Middleton. Remember?" Kim said to her.

"I think I've improved since then, Kimmie." Sherri said and ignited one finger as she wiped it along her face. Kim couldn't help but feel slightly ill when she ignited the finger, but noticed what had happened when she extinguished it. What she had done was melt some of the make up on her face to reveal her pale green skin underneath. "See what I mean?"

"So no one knows you're really Shego?" Kim asked her.

"Not even old Betty Spaghetti. To everyone, I'm just Miss Sharon Gough." Sherri said with a chuckle, but noticed the serious look on Kim's face.

"Sherri, you're not going to tell anyone about?" Kim asked as she drew an S on her chest.

"As long as you don't tell anyone about me, we're okay." Sherri told her.

"It's good to see you again, Sherri. Give me a call sometime." Kim said as they gave each other a brief hug.

"You bet. Maybe we can have lunch some time." Sherri said.

"Sounds good to me. I better go. Lois is probably thinking I'm being ravaged by you." Kim said.

"Why does she think I'm a lesbian?" Sherri asked herself.

"Are you?" 

"Only when I want to be." Sherri said with a smirk and made Kim raise a questioning eyebrow.

"I'm not going to ask." Kim said as she walked to the door.

"Talk to you later, Kimmie." Sherri said to her as she exited the office. As soon as the doors closed and the locks became engaged, she immediately walked back to her desk and hit the intercom. "Tell me you got that on camera." She said.

"We've got it ma'am. It looked like she started feeling ill as soon as you used your abilities." The voice on the other end said.

"Keep looking into our little flying friend. I want answers as soon as possible. You got that, Happerson?" she demanded.

"Got it, Miss Gough." The man said.

"Good." Sherri said as she turned off the intercom. 

One section of the floor raised up that contained two plasma screen television sets. Both came on-line as Sherri stepped close to them. One screen showed an area of space with one small section circled in white. The other screen displayed a strange signal that had been intercepted years ago but never translated. Soon, she would know all there is to know about Kimberly Anne Possible.

* * *

Bodies were scattered all over the insulated bunker, and not all of them were in one piece. Pools of blood were all over the floor and some was still dripping from the walls. In the middle of all the hideous carnage was the strange alien robot that had crashed earlier. As it examined the rest of the outpost, a sickening crunch echoed through out the entire building before it dropped Roger's body to the floor. Roger was as dead as a doornail with his head twisted a full one-hundred and eighty degrees. It scanned the rest of the facility, gauging and scanning all the equipment. That's when it located what it needed.

It stomped its way to an active computer that had been left logged onto the internet during the chaos. It was a very primitive device, slower than anything it or the planet Krypton had or was used to. For right now though, it would do just fine. Examining all the ports on the machine, one of its tentacles shifted and changed its form into something to access the computer with. It drove its adapter into the computer, and immediately began searching and downloading any and all data it could find on the global database. It found that it mostly contained various mating rituals of the planet's species which it found disgusting, but it also found so much more about the planet. 

It was like a drug to it. All the data and information. The firewalls some of these programs and other servers had were mere child's play to it as it kept feeding off more and more of the information. Then there was none. It was all gone. It was disappointed, but it had attained what it needed. It knew how this world worked and all the languages in it. Now, it would need a more sufficient disguise. It expanded its body until it was double the size it had once been and began scanning the bodies. 

To create a new human, it needed to samples of human DNA to create a new DNA chain. Roger would have to do, he hadn't been dead long. But it needed another. Most were too badly damaged or had been dead for too long. Wait, there was one. A female, it had impaled her through her abdomen. According to its readings, she had died only a few minutes ago. Her DNA would do. One tentacle shot into Roger's lifeless body as another plunged into the dead females. It took enough tissue samples for it to get a full DNA chain. After it acquired what it needed, it retracted the tentacles and pulled them inside its body before it shut down.

Time didn't have a meaning to it at that point. All its systems were busy making sure that the new disguise was forming properly, altering it here and there to make it suitable and replacing obsolete organic components with components of its own design and creation. After standing amidst the violent carnage for one week, the once red blood now a sickening brown, it began to move again. The legs folded until the base of the chest was resting against the hard floor. There was a loud hiss as steam and different gases escaped the opening chest. When the metal opened fully, two human legs touched the floor. 

These new sensations were strange to it. It was a newborn feeling and entering the world for the first time. The most dominant feeling was the cold. The generators had given out long ago, so the heaters were no longer working. It walked to one of the lockers that sat in the room, and tore it open with an inhuman strength. Satisfied with what it found, it began to remove several articles of clothing, including the coats and boots in order to survive the unforgiving wilderness outside the bunker. It would use its shell as transport to the energy signature. Once it was finished investigating that, it would use the ship to investigate the only Kryptonian it had detected on this world. 

* * *

Next Time in Ivincible:

A search for an old friend leads a hero to an amazing discoveries.

"You're friends with Ron Stoppable?" Jimmy asked her with pure amazement.

"Yeah, we grew up together. Why do you ask?"

A new menace comes to the City of Tomorrow

"Wh-what are you going to do?"

"I'm gonna put a smile on that face. HA HA HA HA HA!"

Two heroes will meet for the first time.

"Why don't you trust me?" she asked the cloaked figure.

"You let people get too close. I can't risk that." the dark figure said.

And Kim will learn of a secret that she never saw coming

"It can't be." she whispered to herself, unable to believer her eyes.

INVINCIBLE

Chapter 7

The Brave and The Bold


	7. The Brave and The Bold pt1

Invincible

By FAH3

_Gotham City_

He was still a little shaky as he looked at the man on the other side of the glass. He had been in this business for so many years and had seen many horrible things. There had been some things that no one on this Earth should ever see, let alone have to suffer through or have to endure. He took a sip of his coffee to try and calm his nerves, but it wasn't that much help. It was during cases like this that he wished he still drank. A part of his head was screaming for him to go home and get that twelve year old bottle of Scotch that was still in his house. He knew he wouldn't. He gave it up, and he had left that bottle there to make sure he wouldn't go for it. It still didn't make the sight he was looking at any easier.

"Lieutenant Gordon." The rough voice said behind him. He had to admit, he was good. He couldn't even see a reflection in the glass.

"I was wondering how long it'd take you to get here." He said as he pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.

"What happened?" the other asked, wanting to get straight to the point.

"The man's name is Carl Grissom. A neighbor of his complained of a television being too loud. We found out that it was actually him laughing hysterically." he said.

"It's him." His companion said.

"We believe so. Christ, he cut off the man's mouth to give him a permanent smile. The doctor's aren't even sure if plastic surgery will help him." The lieutenant said and finally turned away from the sedated man. "What's worse, the tox screen only showed the laughing toxin in his blood stream. There was no sign of a sedative."

"There wouldn't be. In his eyes, he thought the victim earned the smile and wanted him to enjoy it." The gruff voice said behind his cowl.

"It doesn't make any sense, though. Why would he go after this guy?" the lieutenant asked himself.

"There could be no reason. Every time I think I might have a clue to his insanity, he does unexpected. That's when I figured it out. To him, he's the wild card." Batman said.

"Joker's Wild. Almost sounds like a comic book."

"Was there anything missing?" the cloaked figure asked him.

"The officers did notice something. They found a phone book he kept with a page torn out of it. But the numbers weren't local, though. They were all based in Metropolis." Gordon said.

"Then he's planning something, and he had the key the Joker was looking for. Keep checking into his past, there might be a clue to what the Joker is up to." He said.

"We're already on it. Do you think there's really something to this? Batman?" he asked, but turned to see that no one was there in the hall with him. "I really hate it when he does that." The police man said to himself as he began to leave.

Outside, the thunderous engine of the Tumbler, a.k.a. the Batmobile, roared down the evening streets of Gotham City as the driver opened a secured channel.

"Oracle, are you still awake?" he asked.

"_Still here, big guy. Did you find out what all the talk was about?"_ the voice of his old friend asked him.

"The Joker's resurfaced." Was all he said.

"_Oh crap. Any clues?"_

"He carved a smile into a man's face after he took a page from his personal phone book. I think he's heading to Metropolis."

"_Metropolis? Why would he want to go there?" _Oracle asked him.

"I wish I knew. Oracle, do I own anything in Metropolis?"

"_Not at the moment. But you have been in negotiations with Gough Industries for a joint contract."_

"Then I think its time to sit down with Miss Gough and see what kind of arrangement we can come to." He said as he began to make his way back to base.

_

* * *

___

Metropolis

Kim leaned back in her chair and let out a sigh as she finished her story. Actually, she had finished it hours ago. What she had been doing was trying to find a few of her old friends. She found from her mother that Wade was working in Gotham City, but she wasn't saying much. Including when it came to the one person she had been looking for since she left the fortress, Ron. She asked and bugged her mom and her brothers about her best friend, but she didn't say much. All they said was that he was doing well, ad that was it. She went to his parent's home, and saw that a different family was living in it now. It shouldn't have surprised her, but it didn't make her feel better. Where was he?

She tried to keep in contact with everyone, but that was hard to do in the fortress. In fact, she stopped hearing from him not too long after she started learning about her origins. It was like he had just dropped off the map. She searched for him through records and all that, but she couldn't find anything. The only records that she found were the ones before he stopped talking to her. She tried the Kimmunicator a few times, but no such luck. Where was he? Did he take her leaving harder than she thought?

She would do almost anything to see that goofy grin of his again, or to feel him holding her in his arms. Seven years, and she was still in love with him. Ron, where were you? She adjusted her glasses and glanced up to see what all was happening in the world. She smirked when she saw her new friend, and partner, glancing at the large framed front page newspaper.

"MY NIGHT WITH SUPERWOMAN"

Kim kept laughing every time she read that. Thanks to the way that headline read, everyone would think she was a lesbian. She had been in Metropolis for only four months, and already she was being called Metropolis' favorite daughter. But since so many people were raising questions, she decided to go to Lois as her alter ego. She gave Lois a brief history on where she was from, but kept her private life secret. Lois kept trying to find out more, but thankfully a 747 was in trouble and she had to cut the interview short. Superwoman. What would the world think of next?

"Nice S." Jimmy said as he glanced at the framed paper that had a large picture of her, crashing a getaway car against the pavement while the perps were running.

"Do what?" Kim asked him, feeling a little flustered.

"The S on her chest. You know, strong and amazing, all wrapped up in a bright red cape. Some of my friends would give their right nut to go out on a date with her." Jimmy said.

"That's a little too much information, Jimmy." Lois said.

"Miss Lane, how come you don't ever call me Jim?" he asked.

"Why don't you ever call me Lois?" she countered.

"Touché." The young man said as he began to skulk away. "You okay, Miss Possible?" Jimmy asked her.

"It's nothing, Jimmy. And you can call me Kim. Miss Possible makes me feel too old." Kim told him.

"Okay, KP."

"What?" Kim asked, taken back by what Jimmy had just said.

"Your initials; K & P. Is it okay if I call you that?" Jimmy asked as he got a drink from a near by water cooler.

"Yeah, it's fine. You just caught me a little off guard there. The only person who ever called me that was my best friend Ron." Kim said as she went back to work on her computer while the wheels in Lois' head began turning again.

"Out of curiosity, what's his last name?" Lois asked the young reporter.

"It's Stoppable." Kim said.

Jimmy instantly spit out the water he had been drinking across the floor and against the wall of one of the nearby cubicles, causing Kim to rush to his side as he tried to get a decent breath of air. "S-Stoppable? You know Ronald Stoppable?" Jimmy asked her though he wheezes.

"Yeah. We grew up together; he's my best friend. Why do you ask?" Kim asked the photographer as she patted his back to help him breath.

"Kim, where have you been? Under a rock? Ronald Stoppable is one of the five richest people in the world." Lois told her.

Kim's jaw almost hit the floor when she heard the words come out of Lois' mouth. "Ron? My Ron?"

"Y-yeah." Jimmy said. "In fact, he's richer than Miss Gough. His company is also one of the leading manufacturers for a lot of stuff. Medical equipment, biological research, even seat belts."

"You didn't know?" Lois asked her.

"No. I – when I was away, I lost contact with him. I had no idea." Kim said as she sat back at her desk. _"It must have been all the royalties from the Naco."_ Kim thought to herself.

"You know, I just heard that he's flying into town tomorrow. It'll take a little work with Perry, but I think I can arrange it for us to greet him when he lands." Lois said. Kim grew instantly suspicious.

"You're not looking for a story, are you?" Kim asked her.

"Me? Kim, why would you think that?" Lois asked as she began to walk to her editor's office. "Pulitzer, here I come." Lois whispered to herself.

* * *

It was an old part of Metropolis that not too many people liked to go to anymore. It was once a very nice part of town once, a place where you would want your kids to grow up. Then only people who came near this area now were either flat broke, on the run, or didn't have a home at all. Because of its decline and the location for so many crimes, the area of town had been nick named Suicide Slum. And just by taking one look at it, you would guess that the name fit. It looked like if anyone wanted to take a chance by entering any part of that area might have the desire to comet suicide.

Situated in almost the center of Suicide Slum, stood a small, hole-in-the-wall, restaurant that served fresh Mexican food. Being located in one of the worst areas of town, it was rare if it did that much business. Today was an exception. Inside the small establishment sat four men wearing fine tailored suits. Three were in good shape, save for the cigar one of them was smoking; while the man that sat in the center looked like he was trying to become the next Jabba the Hut. A small amount of grease was on his chin while a napkin was tucked into the collar of his Italian silk shirt, and his brown sports coat was unbuttoned.

"Jimmy, has that butcher changed his mind yet?" he asked the man smoking the cigar.

"He hasn't, boss. He still threatens to call the cops on us every we get close. Last time some of the boys tried to convince him, he pulled a shotgun on us." The man said as he took a long puff on the illegal Cuban that was in his mouth.

"Take the Tank and a few of the other boys with you tonight, and turn that place into a roman candle. If they don't want to cooperate, then they aren't going to do business in my town." The fat man said as he ate another large piece of Fajita meat.

"WHY TONI CARLINI!" a voice said from the entrance, causing them all to look up. The man that stood there was wearing a black overcoat, a pair of black gloves, and wore a dark violet fedora on his head and had it to where it was covering his face. "Why, I haven't seen you in – wait a minute. I've never seen you before. You really have to get out a lot more often." He said as he walked to their table.

"Who the hell is this clown?" the fat man asked.

"You're close with that one, Toni." The man said with a small chuckle.

"You better have a good reason for interrupting our meal, pencil dick." The fat man said as he pointed a knife at the man.

"Here's the thing. I just got into town and realized I didn't have anywhere to stay. So I thought I could crash at your place." The man said.

"Are you brain dead or something?" one of the men asked.

"Dead? No. Brain damaged? Most likely." The man chuckled again.

"Would someone shoot this guy in the face?" the fat man asked as two of his men drew guns and stood. As they did, no one noticed the strange man slipping his hands inside his coat pockets.

"You know, when I was just a baby; my moma told me 'Son, always be a good boy.'" He said as he grabbed the arm of the armed man to his right, and shoved a sharp dagger through his forearm. As he spun around and began to swing his left arm at the other gunman, another blade shot out of his sleeve and into his waiting hand. He raked the blade's edge across the gunman's throat and with a hard enough force to also knock him over.

"Don't ever play with guns." The man said with a small laugh as one man cradled his injured arm while the other lay on the ground; dead from blood loss.

As the man leaned over the table, he placed his arm, with knife still in hand, to supported his weight. With the other arm, he used it to remove his hat from his head and show his face to the fat man. His face was a pale, chalky white while his eyes had dark circles around them, like he had been looking directly into a TV screen for weeks on end. Along both sides of his mouth, was a hideous blood red scar that looked like someone had tried to widen his mouth.

"WHAT THE HELL?" the fat man screamed as he looked at the lunatic's face and tried to get away. His hair was greasy and looked like it had been painted green as it fell in front of his eyes. It was the eyes that were scarring the man the most. They were almost vacant as they gazed at him, but you could still see the pure insanity that was in them.

"Why Carlini, you look a little gassy." The man said as he took out a small balloon from his pocket. "Too much spicy food, I guess." The man said as he stepped back, and clapped his hands together as hard as he could.

The force of his hands impacting popped the balloon, sending a strange yellow powder into the fat man's face. He began coughing like crazy as he inhaled the strange substance into his lungs. He quickly climbed away from the table as he coughed more and more so. He was on his knees, trying to get a deep breath when it started. It wasn't quite noticeable at first, but he was giggling here and there.

"What the – (cough) what the point – he he he – what's wrong with you – he he. Don't you – he he ha ha. Don't you know – ho ho – who I am? He he ha ha. Ha ha ha ha. HA HA HA HA! HA HA HA HA HA!" the fat man said as he began to laugh uncontrollably.

He was laughing so loud, that it wouldn't surprise anyone if people outside could hear him. Soon, the once feared mob boss Toni Carlini was on his back, laughing uncontrollably like a mad man.

"It looks like you guys might need a new boss. And I elect – ME! Any objections?"

_

* * *

___

Metropolis Airport; the next day

There was a cool breeze blowing as Lois and Kim stood a few feet away from the rest of the gathered press crowd. Kim couldn't help but feel a little nervous. She was also trying to figure out why she couldn't find anything about Ron being rich. It should have come up when she ran her search, but she didn't find anything. There was something odd about that. But right now, she just couldn't wait to see her best friend again. She couldn't wait to see the man she loved again.

"How are you holding up?" Lois asked her.

"A little nervous, and I don't know why." Kim said as they waited.

"So you and him were best friends?" she asked.

"We met in Pre-K and were friends ever since." Kim said.

"That's a little bit of a surprise. He has a reputation for being quite the playboy." Lois said.

"Actually that sounds like Ron. Last time he got a hold of a lot of money, he let it go to his head. I just hope he's been smarter with it this time."

"Looks like you're about to find out. Here's comes his plane." Lois said as she pointed out the small private jet that was coming in for a landing.

Immediately, the press began to get ready as they watched the grey plane with gold trim landed on the long stretch of runway. Soon, the plane's turbines powered down as it turned and made its way to the waiting press. As the plane maneuvered its way to the mobile stairwell, Kim was able to get a look at the logo that was painted along the side of the plane.

"Stoppable International?" Kim asked herself. It looked like Ron was still himself when it came to thinking up names.

Her breath soon caught in her throat when the door to the small plane opened and out stepped a tall, and broad shouldered young blonde man. His hair was combed and parted neatly, and he wore a neatly pressed navy blue business suit. For a moment, she wasn't sure she was looking at the person she had grown up with until she saw that smile. It was the same goofy grin he had seen all her life growing up and knew it was him.

"Mr. Stoppable! What brings you to Metropolis?"

"How does it feel to be declared one of the ten most eligible bachelor's?"

"Is it true you're thinking about buying out Gough Industries?"

"People, please. I'll be glad to answer your questions in due time. I do have some business I need to take care of first." He said as he walked down the stairs and made his way through the crowd.

"What about making time for old friends?" Lois called out, making Kim elbow her in the ribs.

When Ron turned to answer Lois' questions, his eyes widened when he saw the woman standing next to her. She was wearing a suit jacket along with a business style mini-skirt, and her hair was done up in a ponytail and a pair of glasses rested on her face, but he would recognize her anywhere.

"KP?" Ron asked as he took a few steps closer to her.

"Hey, Ron." She said as a smile started forming on her face.

"Kim!" Ron said as he ran to her and swept her up in a hug as he saw his best friend again. Kim couldn't help but laugh and hold onto him tightly in return. This had been a feeling she had been missing for so long. "I thought I'd never see you again." He whispered to her.

"I missed you too." She said as she held onto him tighter. When a few flashes went off, she remembered where they were and who was there. "Ron, we have an audience." She said to him.

"Oh, right." He said with a small chuckle as they broke their embrace. "I've got some business I need to do, but I want to talk to you." He said to her.

"I'd love that. How about later tonight?" she asked him.

"Sure. I'll call you later." He said.

"That'd be great." Kim said to him, her smile never leaving her face.

"Great."

"MR. STOPPABLE!" A voice called out, causing both of them to turn. Kim immediately recognized Sherri's assistant, Mercy, standing beside the limo that was waiting for him.

"I'll call you." He said as he walked to the limo that was waiting for him.

"I might be wrong, but that looked more than just a hug between friends." Lois said with a sly grin.

"Did I forget to tell you that we dated for a bit?" Kim asked as she nervously scratched the back of her neck.

"I figured that much from the way he was drooling over you." Lois said, enjoying that she was putting the rookie on the spot. "Come on, Middleton. I'll buy you a coffee and you can give me the juicy details." Lois said as they started making their way towards the car.

* * *

"I'm happy to see that I finally got you to pay us a visit, Stoppable." Miss Gough said as they headed towards Gough Tower.

"I was hoping that a joint venture might do my company some good. I'm also anxious to hear what some of your ideas are." Ron said as he glanced out the window every so often.

"I'm glad to hear it. At least I'm sure it wasn't a certain redhead that brought you down here." Miss Gough said with a raised eyebrow.

"Same old Sherri." Ron said as he glanced at her. "Let's just say it's an added incentive." Ron said to her.

"You know, she's missed you. From what I've heard, you been doing your best to make it hard for people to find you." She said to him.

"I have my reasons, Sherri. I've made a lot of enemies in this business." Ron said.

"Like you buying out Rupert Thorne's company? It was a very bold move. Last time I heard, he was still fuming about it."

"I rid the city of a leach. At the same time, I started to help the city heal from the infection he caused." Ron said.

"Always the hero, aren't you?" she asked him.

"Not always." He whispered. "So what did you have in mine for our joint venture?"

"You'll have to wait until we get to Gough Tower. It's a surprise." Miss Gough said with a small smirk.

* * *

"So you and him both used to save the world, huh? So what was he like as a teenager? Was he one of the stupid jocks?" Lois asked as she and Kim sipped an iced coffee.

"Actually, no. He was the person that cared more for others than he did himself. And no matter how bad someone treated him, he always let it roll of his back." Kim said to her.

"Sounds like a good friend."

"He was. I mean, is. I think." Kim said.

"Think?"

"It's been so long since we've talked to each other. I really do wish I found another way to keep talking to him. It's just that, something about him has changed. I don't know how to put my finger on it, but something was different." Kim said to her.

"Hey, time can change people. I was stubborn and obnoxious as a teenager."

"What do you mean were?" Kim asked.

"Very funny. You know, I can relate a little to having a friend like that. My cousin Chloe and I were closer than my sister Lucy and I ever were. In fact, she was the one that helped me become a reporter in the first place." Lois said.

"What's she doing now?" Kim asked.

"I'll tell you later. A lot of things happened between us, and I don't like to get into it." Lois said as she took a gulp of her iced mocha. "So, how serious did you two get when you were dating?" Lois asked.

"That depends on what you're asking, Lane." Kim said. She knew Lois was looking for juicy details. She could tell by that predator look in her eyes.

"Come one, it's just us big girls. What was the sex like?" Lois asked her.

"Actually, there wasn't any." Kim told her.

"Do what?" Lois asked.

"Ron and I never went that far. We got close, but not that close."

"Hold on a minute. Are you telling me you're still a virgin?" Lois asked her new friend.

"Basically." Kim said, and gave Lois a strange look as she began to laugh like a hyena. "What's so funny?"

"I'm sorry. It's just, you don't see too many people your age that haven't done the deed yet. God, did you guys just didn't have the right moment or what?"

"We had plenty of moments. I was just – well, I was scared." Kim told her.

She wanted to go that far with Ron. On the day she had left for the North Pole, she had considered it. But every time she did, she remembered her powers and how strong she was. Each time she thought about it, she kept seeing visions of herself and loosing control. Each time that played out in her head, she saw the man she loved either getting hurt or killed. It was that fear alone that stopped her from going through with it. It would almost kill her if she had ever hurt Ron in any way.

"Kim, I won't lie. It does hurt the first time you go through with it. But after the pain dies away, you forget about it and just enjoy what follows." Lois told her.

"I'm guessing your first time was that memorable?" she asked her.

"It was one of the new recruits at a base my dad was commanding. I was seventeen and he was twenty-one. We had just mostly talked and became good friends. Everyone joked about us being a couple when we weren't. Then we found out he was being shipped out to the other side of the world, and we might not see each other again. So I just thought 'screw it,' and decided to make our last moment together memorable." Lois said.

"Let me guess, you made it romantic?"

"Actually, I greeted him at the door wearing a see-through bra and a pair of thong panties." Lois said and saw Kim was doing her best not to laugh. "When I see something and I want it, I go for it." Lois said.

"So I've noticed." Kim said as Lois answered her cell phone.

"Lane. Hi Perry, we just finished eating lunch. What? Are you kidding me? No, we're on it." Lois said as she put her phone back in her purse. "Come on. We're heading to Metro General."

"Okay. What's going on at Metro General?" Kim asked as they left the table; Kim leaving a five dollar tip.

"Fat Toni Carlini was just rushed into ICU. All I got from Perry was that it looked like he'd been drugged. With one of Metropolis' high ranking gangsters in the hospital, that means a mob war might be on the horizon." Lois said as she tried to flag down a cab. "I swear, cabby's do this to purposely piss people off. YO! TAXI!" Lois shouted as another passed by.

Kim glanced around, puckered her lips, and whistled as loud as she could; making some of the near by dogs lift their heads in curiosity to what was happening. A cab soon pulled to a dead stop in front of the two reporters, waiting for them to crawl in.

"That's some set of lungs you got there." Lois said as the climbed into the cab.

"My parents said the same thing when I was a baby." Kim said and kicked herself for being too loud. She had to watch it, she wasn't some teenager anymore.

* * *

"I see it, but I don't believe it." Ron said as he looked at the readout on the large flat screen in Miss Gough's large office.

"Believe it, Ron. I've been planning a state of the art battle suit that will give any wearer protection against any firearm, short of a bazooka. It also has flight capability and uses stealth technology to avoid detection. Complete with the latest GPS, communications, tracking, and state of the art weaponry." Sherri said with pride.

"Weapons?" Ron asked as his features began to grow a little dark.

"All non-lethal weapons, of course. The latest in urban protection." Sherri told him quickly.

"I am impressed with it. The way criminals are arming themselves today, police need more protection." Ron said.

"I know. I got the inspiration for this from a survival suit that Thorne's company developed. I tried to see if I could get the prototype, but I couldn't find one in their records." Sheri said.

"I know. I found a paper trail that shows it was built, but I can't find it. Knowing Thorne, he probably sold it to the highest bidder." Ron said as he kept examining the suit design in front of him. "How is the wearer supposed to control the systems?"

"A neural interface one of my men has been working with." Sherri said.

"Neural? That's pretty risky, isn't it?" Ron asked her.

"That's why I have some of the best straight out of MIT, Harvard, and Princeton working on that area. I'm not stupid, Ron. I know the slightest mistake could fry someone's brain." Sherri told him.

"I like this. I mean, I can really see a lot of potential in this. I want to talk to the designer in charge to see how far we can take this thing." Ron said to her.

"I'll let Dr. Irons know. So I take it that we're partners in this?" Sherri asked him.

"I guess it does, Miss Gough." Ron said as he firmly shook her hand.

"Ow. That's quite a grip." Sherri said as she flexed her fingers.

"Sorry about that. I guess I don't know my own strength." Ron said sheepishly.

"Can I talk you into a celebratory drink?" Sherri asked him as a fully stocked mini-bar rotated out from a near by wall.

"Sorry, not today. There's some things I need to do tonight." Ron said.

"Let me guess. Tall, redheaded, and easy on the eyes?" she asked him.

"A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell. Good night, Miss Gough." Ron said as he left the office.

"Just as gullible as he used to be." Sherri said with a smirk as she downed a full glass of Jack Daniels.

* * *

"I told you it wasn't a pretty sight." The doctor said as he showed Miss Lane and Miss Possible the state Fat Toni Carlini.

Both of his arms and legs were strapped down to the medical bed he was laying on while he kept gazing into space. It was small, but a constant chuckle kept escaping his lips. There was a bit of foam dripping out of the corner of his mouth and down what was left of his cheek. His face was covered in claw marks from his own fingernails. He had been clawing at his face to try and force his laughing to stop. What was more horrifying than his current state was what was on his face. From the corners of his mouth to almost his ears, it looked like someone had sliced his mouth into a permanent and wider smile. His cheeks had been stitched back together, but it was evident that there would be a lasting scar for the rest of his life.

"How did he end up like that?" Kim asked as she looked at him. To do something like to a man in her mind was sadistic.

"The toxicology report shows there was a strange toxin in his system. It took some time, but we found an antidote for it in Gotham City. It'll take some more time, but it should ware off within the next forty-eight hours." The doctor said.

"That long?" Lois asked him.

"The longer someone goes untreated, the longer the anti-toxin needs to purge their system. He was lucky, though. If he hadn't been brought in when he had, he would have died laughing." The doctor said as he checked the crime lord's IV and his monitor stats.

"Do the cops know who did this?" Kim asked him.

"Isn't it obvious? He's telling us right now." The doctor said to them.

"Great. That's all we need is for that lunatic to be running around Metropolis." Lois said to herself as she looked away.

"Who?" Kim asked her.

"The Joker."

* * *

"Bill, bill, bill. If I wanted to pay this much, I would have stayed in Gotham." The middle aged man said as he closed the door to his apartment and tossed the stack of bills on his coffee table.

He threw his torn jacket on the couch as he set the AC to a comfortable level and flopped down in his recliner. He had a mild headache that would go away in a little bit of time. He just wished he still had aspirin to chew on until it was gone. Who knew trying to go straight would be so much work? He was lucky he had gotten the construction job as a welder, but the hours were a nightmare. He had to leave before daylight, and didn't get home until after sunset. Still, it was better than the life he would have faced back in Gotham City.

For years he had worked for the top crime lord in Gotham City, Carmine, The Roman, Falcone. After years of faithful service to the Falcone family, all he got to show for it were a few bullet wounds and a rap sheet longer than both his arms put together. After the botched accident at the Axis Chemical plant, he cut a deal with the District Attorney. For ratting out some of the Falcone's schemes and key thugs, he'd get immunity and placed in the witness protection program.

He had to admit that life here was better than his life back in Gotham, but he missed the cut of the money he used to get. At least then, he could afford some of the stuff he liked. Now look at him. Most of the furniture in his living room he had found at the dumpsters. A little bit of elbow grease and the stuff was as good as new, but it wasn't his taste. But never look a gifted horse in the mouth. He was just hoping some idiot threw out a big screen soon; this ole black & white piece of crap he had wasn't worth the effort he had put into fixing it. Not too many channels and nothing good on. After tossing the remote back onto the table, he grabbed a couple of take out menus he had snatched here and there to look for something to eat. He wa sick of Chinese, and wasn't in the mood for a burger. Looks like it was pizza tonight.

"_Papa Mike's Pizza?"_ the voice on the other end of the phone asked.

"I'd like to place and order for a supreme to be delivered." He said.

"_One supreme. You're order should be there in thirty seconds or less."_

"Thirty seconds? Don't you mean minutes?" he asked. All he heard in return was a busy signal from the line going dead. As he began to re-dial the number, he heard someone knocking at the door. "What the hell?" he asked himself.

"Pizza Delivery!" the voice on the other side of the door said.

"Something ain't right." The man said to himself as he took a 9mm out from under a couch cushion and made sure it was loaded.

Slowly, he walked to the door and looked through the peep hole. So far, all he saw was black. Someone was covering the hole. Now he knew something was right. His confusion began to grow when he saw whatever was blocking it was taken away and replaced by five fingers. Wait, now four. Three? Two?

"Oh crap."

The door exploded is a shower of massive heat and splinters, sending the man flying backwards across the coffee table and onto the floor. He could tell he was burned from the pain he could feel. It hurt to move his legs, and his shoulder still felt like it was on fire. He felt some pain when he was breathing and looked down. A shard of door was jabbed into him through his ribs. It might have punctured a lung. He glanced back up and saw the figure that walked in. He was wearing a black overcoat, with a dark purple suit underneath it. Black gloves covered his hands as he carried a pizza box under his arm. But it was his face that was the most frightening.

"How the mighty have fallen." He said with a slight chuckle as he kneeled down to talk to him face to face.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked the man.

"Now that hurts, Mickey . You don't recognize an old friend of yours." He said with a strange sadistic pout on his face.

"I'd think I'd remember a face like yours, Mac." The man said as he grunted in pain as the sadistic clown grabbed his burned shoulder and began to squeeze as hard as he could.

"There's no excuse for being rude, Michael. I know I've changed a little since your little heist. The one at a certain refinery?" he asked and smiled when the man's eyes went wide with fear. "How nice; it rings a bell." He said as he chuckled.

"Y-you can't be him. He's dead." The man said as he felt panic consume him.

"Oh, why so serious?" the man asked as he removed his hand and wiped it on his coat; before presenting the pizza box in front of the man.

"W-what are you gonna do?" the man asked as he saw the Joker face on the box.

"I'm gonna put a smile on that face." The sadistic man said as he retried a small gas mask from his pocket and applied it to his face before he opened the box.

* * *

Ron sat at a small table in the back of the restaurant, and actually felt nervous for the first time in years. He was supposed to meet Kim here tonight so they could catch up. There were so many times he had thought he would never see her again. It had been so long since they had talked to each other, and he couldn't help but wonder how much she had changed. HE wondered if she had changed like – like him. A small sigh escaped him as he sipped on a glass of ice water to try and help calm his nerves. She should be here any moment. When he heard his cell phone begin to ring in his pocket, a small groan escaped his lips as he reached for the wireless earpiece.

"I thought I told you not to contact me unless it was important." Ron said.

"_Just making sure you didn't freak and run yet."_ The voice on the other end said.

"You know, I should lock you out of the computer for this." Ron said.

"_Come on, Ron. You know I'm as curious as you are to how she's doing." _

"Wade, I mean it. I'm nervous enough as is." Ron said.

"_Maybe you wouldn't be if you had let her find you in the first place. Remember all that crap you had me do to keep yourself hidden?"_

"You know why I had you do that." Ron said as he tried to fight back the flood of memories. "So do me a favor, and don't try to call me again unless it's something important." Ron said as he turned off the ear piece and pocketed it. "For a computer genius, he still needs to grow up." Ron said to himself.

"Mr. Stoppable?" the waiter asked him.

"Yes?" Ron asked.

"There's a young lady named Miss Possible wanting to join you."

"By all means, let her through." Ron said as he straightened his suit and tie.

When he saw Kim walking toward him, his hear almost stopped. She was wearing a strapless black evening gown with a slit on the left side that went to her mid thigh. She wore a pair of sheer pantyhose and a pair of black high heel pumps to accentuate her long well toned legs. Her horned rimmed glasses were replaced by a pair a sleeker pair of black thin framed glasses. Her hair was done in an elegant style ponytail with the a few locks left hanging, framing her face as she smiled at him.

"Whoa, moma." Ron said to himself. She was even more beautiful than the last time he remembered seeing her. She almost seemed to float on the air itself as she made her way toward him and kissed his cheek.

"Hi, Ron." She said with a beaming smile.

"H-he-hi, K-KP. You look – wow." Ron said as he felt his throat tighten.

"I'll take that as a compliment." She said as they both took their seats.

"I-I ordered some wine, if that's okay."

"It's fine, Ron. At least this is better than the dates we went on with your coupon book." She said.

"I thought I was getting some good deals at the time." He said to her. "Well, how are you? It's been so long." Ron said.

"I'm doing good. I'm a reporter with the Daily Planet now." She said to him.

"So that's why you were there." Ron teased.

"Not completely. Although, I think Lois is trying to do an expose about us."

"It wouldn't surprise me. Out of curiosity, did you ever find what you went looking for?" Ron asked her.

"Yeah, I did. I learned a lot about where I was from. I also learned a lot about my family too. I tried to keep in contact with everyone but – Ron, I'm sorry." She said to him.

"About what?" he asked her.

"About what? Ron, you haven't heard form me in years. I thought that – that maybe,"

"Wait a minute. Kim, you don't think I hate you; do you?" Ron asked her.

"You stopped talking to me. And when I came back, I couldn't find you anywhere. I don't blame you for being angry with me." She said as she looked down at her wine glass.

"KP, look at me." Ron said as he grasped her hand in his. Her eyes at that moment looked almost the same as a wounded doe's. "KP, I'm not angry at you. Life just – just got in the way. Kim, I could never hate you." He said to her and almost melted when he saw that old sparkle return to her eyes.

"I just wished I had tried harder to keep in touch." She said to him.

"It's okay, we're here now." He told her.

"Well, enough about me. What about you? You're rich and famous, and you've got women drooling all over you. I bet Hannah and you're parents must be proud of you." Kim said, and noticed how he flinched a little when she mentioned his parents.

"You could say that." Ron said. "It's nothing much, Kim. I saved up my Naco money, and Mr. North left me his estate when he passed away. It turns out I was the only friend he had left. And Hannah is doing great." Ron said to her.

Hannah was the little girl his parents adopted their Senior year of High School. Ron wasn't fond of her at first. He kept referring to her as an intruder. But soon, Ron cared for her as much as his parents. Sometimes, he was even more protective of her than she was of her cuddle buddy Pandaroo.

"Ron, is everything all right?" she asked him.

"Sure, everything's fine." Ron said as he sipped his wine, but she could tell there was something else. Now she knew that something in her old friend was different. It was like noticing a scar you couldn't see unless you really looked.

"Ron, what happened to you when I was away?" she asked him again.

"KP, let's not talk about that kind of stuff right now." Ron said. She could tell from his voice alone that something had happened. Ron, what's wrong?

"Ron,"

"Hold on KP." Ron said as his cell phone started to go off. "This better be good." he said as he plugged the earpiece in. "What? Okay, I'm heading out now." Ron said as his face seemed to harden and become void of any emotion. "I've got to go. Something big is going down. Listen, can I make up for tonight?" he asked her.

"Sure thing. Just as long as I get to talk to Ron my friend, and not Ron the business man." She said to him.

"Deal." He said as he kissed her cheek. "I'll talk to you later, KP." He said as he left.

With her date a wash out, she might as well go on patrol. Flying always gave her time to think and clear her head. So maybe she would figure out what had happened to Ron. Where was Wade when you needed him?

* * *

"_Sorry to cut things so short."_

"It's all right, Oracle." The dark figure said as he slipped into the apartment, and began to examine the crime scene. "How long ago were the police called?"

"_Twenty minutes ago, so you don't have much time to investigate."_

"I have a feeling I won't need that long." The figure growled as he saw the man lying on the carpet. He was burned and hat several pieces of burned wood jutting out from his body. He took a look at the door, and saw from the frame alone that the victim had been too close when the attacker blew it open. "I'm getting a scan of his fingerprints. I need an immediate search." He said as he took out a small object with a glass side that lit up as soon as he applied it to the victim's thumb.

"_I'm running a search as we speak. Is he alive?"_

"No, he's dead. And I already know who did it." He said as he removed a small camera from his belt and took a few photos of the crime scene and of the body.

"_How do you know?"_

"I have a hunch." He said as he took a few pictures of the man's face, and saw that a large abnormal grin was on it. A person couldn't smile like that by any normal means, and he knew it. "Have you found out anything from the first victim?" he asked as he began to examine the crime scene.

"_Actually, I did. Turns out he was a low level enforcer for the Falcone family. But lately, he's been freelancing to anyone who pays him."_

"Try and find a connection between them. There's a reason he came here and killed this one."

"_Got it. You better get out of there now, the cops just pulled up."_

"Copy. I already have what I need." The grim figure said as he went out the window.

* * *

Now this was the life he had imagined when he got into this racket. Women all around him, women jiggling what God gave them in front of him, and women giving him the best booze money could buy. This had to be his favorite gentlemen's club in all of Metropolis. Screw Fat Toni, he was old news. He had been thinking about ditching that tub of lard for a while now. Intergang was the way to go. If he had known this was how they lived, he would have gone to work for them a long time ago. Especially when he got a glimpse at the Rocky Mountains that was on the dancer in front of him.

Fake, real, he didn't care. He just wanted something like that dancing for him. Who said money didn't buy you happiness?

"Hey sweetheart! How about dancing my way?" he shouted to the blonde on stage.

"Get bent." She said once she got a good look at him. They didn't pay her enough to dance for a sleaze like him.

"You think that maybe my pal Franklin can change your mind?" he asked as he waved two one-hundred dollar bills in front of her.

Before the blonde dancer could have a chance to reply with an answer, the skylight above shattered as the dark form a giant bat landed directly onto the table the gangster was sitting at. As shower of broken glass rained down on everyone, the now quivering thug found himself looking into this dark avenger's very cold and angry eyes.

"Joey, we need to talk." He growled as his left fist bashed in the face of the gangster that tried to sneak up behind him like he was swatting a fly. "Where's the Joker?"

"I got rights, pal. I don't have to"

Joey's words were cut off as the menacing guardian grabbed him by his collar and tie in a clinched fist. He slowly began to twist both in his hands, tightening the clothing that was around the gangster's throat.

"I won't ask again." The figure growled.

"Who knows? As soon as he muscled in, I split. There was no way in hell I'm working for that freak." The thug sputtered as he glanced past the caped crusader. That was all the warning he needed.

Faster than anyone could follow, the Batman grasped several small batarangs and sent them flying into the direction of the armed thugs behind them. A few logged themselves into the hands and arms of two thugs while the rest only cut their arms and shoulders. While they grimaced in pain and clutched their wounds, they didn't see the figure leap at them with its cape looking like a pair of outstretched wings. His fists collided into the faces of two thugs and knocked them out cold while he quickly stood to his feet and struck his knee into the stomach of another.

While the thug fell to his knees and tried to regain his breath, the dark figure spun around and struck the other armed man with the spikes on his gauntlet, cutting his face before kicking him in the side of his head. When the wheezing thug stood to his feet, his world was instantly plunged into darkness as the head of his attacker collided with his. Another batarang flew threw the air as the dark figure stood again, and pinned Joey's arm to the wall.

"WHERE'S HE HIDING?"

"I don't know! Honest!" Joey screamed as the figure raised his fist for another strike.

"That's enough!" a newcomer said and grabbed the Batman's forearm before he could strike. Both turned to see a woman with long red hair and blue bodysuit standing next to the Batman, with a flowing red cape behind her and a Red and yellow pentagonal S shield on her chest. "You got what you need, now lay off!" she said in a commanding voice.

Before she even knew what had happened, the Batman grabbed her by her arm and flipped her over his head. As she crashed into one of the tables and her cape embarrassingly fell over her head, she couldn't believe what had just happened. He had caught her completely off guard that time. In all the confusion, Joey ripped his sleeve loose from the bat shaped weapon and began to run. The Batman's eye narrowed as he began to give chase until he was hit with the force of a speeding truck. The Batman hit the wall with a loud thud and slowly slid to the floor as he tried to regain his bearings. The woman hadn't even hit him, just rammed him with her shoulder.

"I won't tolerate vigilantism in my city." She said as she walked over to him.

"And what do you call what you're doing?" he asked her as he tried to stand again.

"Let's just see who I'm dealing with." She said as she focused her vision on the man's cowl.

"DON'T!" he shouted, but it was too late.

Kim's eyes went wide with shock as she saw the true face of the man before her. Her mind froze as the rest of her body became paralyzed. It couldn't be him. It was impossible. He would never do anything like this, ever! But there was no mistake.

"Ron?" she asked, her voice barley coming out as a whisper.

"You peaked." He growled before he threw a smoke pellet against the ground.

The thick smoked filled the room in a matter of seconds, blinding Kim and whoever had remained. Kim tried to use her X-Ray vision through the hazy mist, but found that it was beginning to irritate her eyes as well. She quickly inhaled a deep breath, breathing all the smoke into her lungs. She looked upward at the broken skylight, and exhaled all the smoke out from her lungs and into the open sky above her. She looked all over the club, but she couldn't see him anywhere. There was no trace of him anywhere. She even used her hearing and listened to every sound all the way out into Hobbs Bay, but she couldn't even find his heartbeat anywhere.

She then flew out through the broken skylight and high into the air above Metropolis. She scanned every inch that she saw, looked through every building and even looked into the sewer. She still couldn't see anything. As she returned her vision to normal, she felt her heart sink.

"Ron, what happened to you?" she asked herself before she flew back to her apartment.

* * *

Kim landed on the balcony of her apartment, and opened the door that led into her bedroom. She removed her cape and tossed it on the bed as her mind still thought about what she had seen tonight. She had heard so many stories about The Batman, about how hard and tough he was on criminals. But the ferocity he had used was so much unlike Ron. What had happened to him while she had been gone? She did her best not to cry as she turned her bedside lamp on.

"It's dangerous for you to dress in here." A rough voice said behind her. She spun to see non other than the Dark Knight himself standing behind her. "There are four buildings alone that have a direct line of sight into the bedroom alone."

"Ron." She said.

"I knew you were going to have questions he said to her.

"Ron, what happened to you?" she asked him.

"I don't like to talk about it." He said.

"Ron, don't do this. Ron, I'm your best friend. You can talk to me. This isn't like you at all!"

"It's been seven years, Kim. People can change in that time." He said.

"Ron, I'm begging you." Kim said as she walked to him as tears began to fill her eyes. "Did this happen to you because of me?" she asked him.

"No, KP. It wasn't because of you." He said to her.

"Then why?" she asked him and saw the pain in his eyes before he closed them. They were the only clue in telling her how he felt. The rest of him was so cold and hardened; it was almost like she was talking to a stranger. "Ron, please." She begged again.

"Not too long after you left, I started to attend Gotham University. Their culinary program was practically begging me to attend. I was able to successfully past my first semester with good grades, and my mom and dad came to visit." Ron said, but that's when his voice seemed to take a darker tone. "We went out and celebrated. We even saw The Mark of Zorro with Tyrone Power. I didn't realize how much I had missed them until that night. When we left, we got lost. I don't know how, but we soon tried to take a short cut in a part of Gotham that's known as Crime Alley. That's when a junkie called Joe Chill attacked us. He had a gun trained on us, wanting money. My dad gave him his wallet, but he was so jumpy and delusional. All I remember is my mom screaming, two shots, and that coward running away into the night."

"Ron, I'm so sorry." Kim said to him, but he only moved to the side of the room.

"I was so angry. I couldn't stand to be around anyone or anything. I wanted revenge so badly that I could taste it. I even thought about buying a gun and shooting Chill the day of his trial."

"Please tell me you didn't,"

"No, KP; I didn't. I really wanted to though. I needed to get away, to go somewhere to help me think, and to help me heal. Using the money mom and dad had left me, Hannah and I left for Japan." He told her.

"You went to Yamanouchi?" she asked him. Because of his enemy Monkey Fist, Ron had been allowed to reveal the secret school to her ages ago, and she had kept it a guarded secret ever since then.

"Yes. I buried myself in my studies of Monkey Kung Fu. I spent days on end learning everything I could. Master Sensei and Yori tried to comfort me during that time, but I wouldn't let anyone in.

"That's when Yori sat down and explained to me that I was lost. That I could no longer see my path in life. But she could help me find a new path, one that would help others who had suffered as I had. She told me to consider it as a last resort and if I was truly seeking a way to bring Justice. Like an idiot, I blindly followed her." Ron said.

"Blindly? Ron, what do you mean?"

"I found out Yori and her family belonged to a group of people that had decided to bring justice in their own way. They had brought in others like me, one's that wanted to fight the evil that had wronged them. So she led me to them, and explained my quest.

"I trained with them. I excelled at the training, and pushed myself to my limits and beyond. But the final test I wouldn't have anything to do with." Ron growled, slipping back into the voice he used as Batman. "They had a prisoner. He had tried to steal from one of his neighbors, and had accidentally killed him. My final test was to bring justice to him – by taking his life." Ron said.

"They wanted you to kill a man?"

"I wouldn't. I refused to. If I killed someone, it would make me no better than the scum that had taken my parents away from me. They didn't seem to agree with me, especially their leader. There was a fight between me and several others when I tried to escape. I don't know how, but their headquarters exploded when I finally got out there." Ron said.

"What about Hannah?" Kim asked him.

"Sensei had kept her safe in the school the entire time I was gone. I told both of them what had happened there, and what had become of them. That's when Sensei explained my training was complete. By showing I did not believe in their ways and valued life, I had become a true master of the Mystical Monkey Arts." Ron told her.

"I suppose Yori wasn't too happy." Kim said to herself.

"I'm not sure. She was unreadable. I tried to find out more, but Sensei said she had been sent there as their hope for a change. I'm guessing blowing their organization to hell wasn't what they had in mind." Ron said.

"I decided to start bringing justice to where it was needed the most; to Gotham City. When Hannah and I returned two years ago, I discovered the fortune Mr. North had left me and his home he had built in Gotham. I also found out he hadn't completely recovered from his delusions of being the Fearless Ferret. With Wade and Felix's help, I converted the cave into my own Headquarters. And I've been Batman ever since." Ron said.

Kim sat on her bed as she let everything sink in. That explained why he had stopped contacting her, and why she couldn't find his parents. But there was another feeling inside her that was beginning to eat at her. Guilt. She felt responsible for everything that had happened to her best friend.

"It's my fault, isn't it? All of it's my fault. If I had only taken you with me up North, this wouldn't have happened." Kim said, and soon felt one of Ron's strong hands around her hands as the other lifted her chin to look at him.

"This wasn't your fault, KP. You didn't pull that trigger, and you didn't kill my mom and dad." He told her. "Kim, even I was still so angry with everything, I could never hate you." He said to her.

"Then why couldn't I find you? Ever since I came back, I couldn't find any sign of you." Kim said as a tear began to fall down her cheek.

"I didn't want you to find me, Kim. I didn't want you to know what had happened to me." Ron said as he looked down.

"Why?"

"Because I wanted you to remember me like I was. I wanted you to remember me as the man you fell in love with, not this." He said as he stood and turned to go.

"Wait." Kim said and was behind Ron before he could even blink. She turned him around to look at her so she could see his face. "Ron, I still love you." She said as she pulled his cowl off until it fell behind his head. "It's you that I love, Ron." Kim said before she leaned in and grasped his lips with hers in a gentle embrace.

When the kiss broke, Ron was looking at her with pure disbelief. "You still love me?" he asked her.

"I never stopped." Kim said as both of them kissed each other once again.

Each of them were putting as much passion as they possibly could into their embrace. After so many years of dreams and loneliness, they were once again with the one person they truly loved. The on person they truly needed to make themselves feel complete. This was a moment both had wanted, longed for, and so desperately needed for so many long years. The feel of their bodies pressing against each other was driving them both wild with desire, and the smell of her hair was almost intoxicating to him. This was a moment both of them never wanted to end as their passion and love was expressed to each other all through the night.

**Author's Note(s):** This is part 1 of this chapter. Now, I have to apologize a little bit, because I borrowed a little from Classsic Cowboy in order to fill a few holes in the story. So sorry Classic, I didn't mean to.


	8. The Brave and The Bold pt2

Invincible

By FAH3

After a long night of sharing something wonderful with someone you truly loved, and only getting two or three hours sleep, you'd think that she would be sleepy and exhausted. But as she opened her eyes to the dawn of a brand new day, nothing but pure satisfaction and joy was all she could feel. After waiting for so long and having so many doubts, she finally shared a wonderful experience with the man she loved. She could see the morning sky clearly through her bedroom window as she felt the cool air from her air conditioning drift along her bare skin. She turned over in the bed to feel the warm body of her lover, but only felt a pillow and satin sheets.

She opened both eyes and focused on the empty side of the bed. Where was he? She lifted herself in a sitting position, keeping a hand clutched to the sheet that covered her body, and tried to find out what had happened to Ron. She still saw the pieces of their uniforms strewn about the large bedroom. She even laughed when she saw that one of his boots was sitting on top of a dresser, after it had crashed into the wall when it was thrown off. That's when she smelled something that made her almost float off of her mattress as her smile grew larger. It was the smell of a hot breakfast being prepared. The more he changed, the more he still stayed the same.

Kim grabbed her bathrobe and covered herself, leaving part of it open to try and entice him again. As she stepped to the door, she took a brief glance at the glasses that sat on her bedside table. Remembering what Ron had said last night, she grabbed the glasses and stuck them in her robe's pocket. She traveled down the short hall and smiled as she saw him standing at the stove, wearing only a towel around his waist as he flipped a pancake into the air and caught in the pan.

"I guess ninja training also comes in handy in the kitchen." Kim said with a grin as Ron turned and glanced over at her.

"Morning, KP. I was hoping I wouldn't wake you." Ron said as he turned off the stove and added the pancake he had made to one of the stacks on the table.

"I see you've been busy. I thought you'd want to sleep in." Kim said as she walked to him, and kissed him deeply as she circled her arms around his neck.

"Old habit I developed." He said as he returned the kiss. "Did you sleep well?" he asked her.

"Surprisingly, yes. I guess last night took a lot more out of me than I thought." She said.

"I'm surprised your neighbors didn't call the cops on us. I don't think you shouted that loud since you were in cheerleading." Ron said as they sat down to breakfast.

"I wasn't that loud." She said as she began to turn as red as the strawberries on top of her pancakes.

"Yeah, and I don't go out at night dressed as a giant bat." Ron said as he joined her. As Kim sipped her juice, she noticed a strange pair of claw marks that went along his right arm that went from his shoulder to his elbow.

"I didn't do that, did I?" Kim asked him.

"Huh?" Ron asked and glanced at the direction she had been looking. "Oh, that. No, that was someone else." Ron said.

"Someone else, huh? A secret girlfriend?" Kim teased him.

"Not unless a woman in a leather cat suit and a whip counts."

"Ron, where have you spending your nights?" Kim asked him.

"NO! No, it's nothing like that, KP. She's a cat burglar that just appeared. We fought to a stand still, and she left that as a memento." Ron told her.

"I don't know if I should be thankful it wasn't me or jealous." Kim said.

"I created a monster." Ron said to himself as Kim laughed at his reaction.

"Well, we do have a few more minutes before I have to go to work. Or I could call in sick." Kim suggested and gave Ron a sultry look.

"KP, you don't know how much I want to take you up on that. But as long as the Joker's out there, I can't rest for that long." Ron told her with his voice filled with nothing but seriousness.

"What if I help you look for him?"

"No, Kim."

"Ron, this is me we're talking about." Kim said to him.

"Exactly, Kim. I know your abilities make you practically invulnerable, but I don't want to risk anything. With the Joker, you have to expect the unexpected." Ron said to her.

"And I know Metropolis better than you do. Not to mention I can see through walls." Kim said to him.

"Kim, please trust me on this. The Joker has done things to people that would make our old enemies cringe. This man has no problem killing anyone." Ron said as his features grew a bit darker.

"You've seen him do it, haven't you? You've seen him kill someone." Kim said.

"It was when he first surfaced as The Joker. He had been using a man that had a mental handicap. He was almost like a child, but he was also a genius level chemist. I discovered the Joker used that knowledge to help him complete his laughing gas, and make it toxic. He thought it would be funny to finally put a smile on some of Gotham's city officials. When I found them, they were making a getaway across the Gotham Bridge. The Joker drove the car off the bridge and into the river below.

"A few days later, police found a body on that looked like it had been washed up on the shore. The face was disfigured, crushed. His head had also been bashed in. Because of the clothes on the body and the pale skin, they thought it was him."

"It wasn't him, was it?" Kim asked him.

"No. When I examined the body, I discovered that the pale skin was white make up. The Joker doesn't wear makeup. And the blows that caused the injuries to his face were blunt force, but the ones to the head were done by a fist. He killed the man he had been manipulating in order to try and escape. To him, it's all apart of a sick joke." Ron said as he drank most of the orange juice in one gulp.

"Why does he do it?" Kim asked him.

"If I knew that, I would have been able to stop him by now." Ron said to himself as he stood from the table and walked to one of the windows.

All he did was just stand and look out at the large city in front of him. In his mind, he was trying to figure out everything the Joker had done. Trying to see what it had linked the past three victims.

"Is that why you came to Metropolis? To find him?" Kim asked him as she walked up behind them and gently wrapped her arms around him.

"It's the main reason why I'm here. And with Gough Industries, I thought maybe I could do some real good. Ever since that night, I've been doing my best to make sure what happens to me doesn't happen to anyone else." Ron said as he held one of Kim's hand in his.

"That's why you bought Thorne's company. Ron, let me help you." She said again.

"No, KP." He said as Kim felt him stiffen in her embrace.

"Why don't you trust me?" she gently asked him.

"Kim, it's not that. I already lost my mom and dad." Ron said as he turned to face her and gently held her waist. "I couldn't take it if I lost the woman I love." He said as he pressed his forehead against hers.

"Ron, he's in my city now. I'm not saying we team up, but I have to do what I can to keep Metropolis safe." Kim told him.

"The same old KP." Ron said with a grin as the leaned in and grasped each others lips in a passionate embrace. Both were so envolved in their embrace and so lost in their moment, they didn't hear the pounding on Kim's door.

"Hey Middleton! Come on, I've got a story for us! I knew this would come in handy some day." The woman on the other side of the door said. Soon, the tumblers in the door's lock feel into place, and the door was pushed open. "I've been calling for the past twenty minutes and – Hello man of my dreams." Lois said as she saw Kim in a lip lock with a tall and very well built and toned man.

"LOIS!" Kim screamed when she finally noticed her partner in the doorway and quickly grabbed and slipped her glasses on her face. Kim closed her robe the rest of the way while Ron hid behind her, remembering he only had a towel around his waist.

"Hey, this is better than those cheesy romance novels I've read. Please continue." Lois said when she noticed how red bother were becoming.

"This couldn't get any worse." Kim moaned to herself.

"Wait a minute. Ronald Stoppable? Kim, did you and one of the richest men in the world do the mattress mambo last night?" Lois asked teasingly and began to laugh when Kim covered her face with her hands and the young blonde's face was matching the young woman's hair.

"It's worse." Ron groaned to himself. "I'm going to go hide in the bedroom and suffocate myself now." Ron said as he began to walk off.

"Nice ass, by the way." Lois said when she saw the back of the towel was wide open.

"Lois, if you say one word to anyone," Lois growled at her partner.

"Relax, Middleton. Unlike some gossip mongers out there, I know when to keep my mouth shut. At least you're not in the virgin club anymore."

"Why are you here again?" Kim asked her very rude partner as she walked into the kitchen and fixed herself a cup of coffee.

"I was here to give you a ride to work. If I'd known you had Ronald Stoppable here, and if I knew he looked that good under those clothes, I would have brought a camera." Lois said as Kim blushed even more.

"I'm going to go check on him. Please promise not to say anything to anyone at work." Kim said as she walked to her bedroom.

"What are friends for?" Lois asked with an evil smirk. "Make sure you ride him once for me, Kim!" Lois called out and laughed when she heard the young woman groan in frustration.

"I swear I'm going to fly her to the moon and leave her there!" Kim growled as she shut the door, and saw that Ron was already attaching his cape to the rest of his suit. "You're leaving here dressed like that?" Kim asked him.

"I've been Batman in the daylight before. It's nothing new." Ron said as he slipped into his "bat" voice.

"What about those apartments that can see into mine?" she asked him.

"Three were vacant, and the tenant of the last one was asleep. And I have a meeting I need to make before I go looking for the Joker again." Ron said as he began to slip into his spiked gauntlets.

"What do you think he'll do next?" Kim asked.

"I'm not sure. I still haven't found a connection to his last two victims, and now he's taken over the mob in Suicide Slum. No matter how psychotic he is, he knows he'll need the one thing that can keep his new thugs in line." Ron said as picked up his cowl and slipped it on.

"Money. I'll see if I can find something while I'm at work." Kim said as she walked into her closet to find something for work.

"You aren't going to stay out of this, are you?" Batman growled as he looked out the window.

"You know I won't." Kim said as she stepped out in a comfortable office suit and went to put on a pair of ear rings.

"Just be careful."

"I always am. Ron?" Kim asked, and saw that she was the only one in the room. "I've got to find out how he does that." Kim said to herself as she went to go argue with her partner.

* * *

To say that all of the men were nervous was an understatement. Ever since that smiling lunatic had taken out their boss, they didn't know what to expect. Inn all their years involved with organized crime, they had never dealt with anything like this. HE had sent a few of the boys to do a special project of his, but he wouldn't tell them. In the mean time, he had sent them to try and get some cash. Since Toni was the only one that knew how to access his bank accounts, they had to resort to old tactics. Mainly, stealing from whomever and wherever they could.

When they finally went to where the Joker was hiding out, they couldn't help but get a bad case of the creeps. For years, a small amusement park had been closed down when city officials found out they had been cutting corners to save money. It finally hit the fan when faulty and cheap parts they had been using finally broke and caused one of the roller coasters to crash. Ever since then, the park had been gathering rust. And the Joker had decided to hide in the abandoned Fun House. It almost seemed like a twisted version of Silence of the Lambs when they saw him sitting at the end of an old conference table with several chairs around it.

"Welcome home boys. Tell papa what you got him for Father's Day." He said as the men marched in and began to pile what they had taken in front of them.

When the Joker saw the pile in front of him, his face immediately grew darker and frowned. All in all, it only looked like several hundred dollars, and a lot of cheep watches and what _could_ be expensive jewelry.

"We did our best. A lot of the guys we were hitting up for protection money wouldn't pay since you rubbed out Fat Toni. It isn't much," the leader of the bunch started, but stopped as the Joker looked at a small pocket watch.

"Not much?" he asked calmly before he slammed his fist slammed down upon the old time piece, making it shatter and break from the impact. "IT'S NOTHING! Oh, the criminal underworld of Metropolis. It has such idiots in it. You all probably wouldn't know your ass from a hole in the ground if someone didn't draw you a picture."

"THAT'S IT!" one of the men, Malloy, said as he stepped forward.

"Malloy, don't."

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO! Ever since this clown muscled in, he won't tell us jack! He's been making us do this low life crap, and no big scores! Well, get this through your pasty head. I – WANT – OUT!" the goon shouted in the Joker's face.

"As you wish." The Joker calmly said as he placed the barrel of a shotgun against the Malloy's chin.

Malloy began to back up, along with the others as they feared what the nutcase was fixing to do.

"Hey, take it easy man. I – I was only kidding around. You know, just fooling." Malloy said as his breath began to quicken and the Joker aimed the shotgun in between Malloy's eyes.

Malloy clenched his eyes shut, not wanting to see it happen. His breathing was still erratic as he waited for the inevitable sound of the gun going off. He let out a small yell and flinched when he heard a squeak and saw a flag sticking out of the barrel of the gun.

"So was I." the Joker said and gave a small chuckle.

Malloy and the others began to realx as they realized he wasn't holding a real gun. A few of the other let out a small laugh at the situation, even Malloy. Before Malloy could say anything to his new boss, a loud bang echoed across the fun house as Malloy's body sailed through the air and landed on the floor with a loud thud. A broad smile was on his face as the flag and rod was sticking out of his blood soaked chest.

"Oops. I guess I wasn't." the Joker growled as he tossed the shotgun aside with another shot echoing as it landed on the hard floor. "Now I know you boys doubt my actions. But just trust me when I say that it's all apart of the plan. But in order to pull it off, I need to know you're with me. Are you with me?" he asked them.

"W-we're with you boss." They said to him.

"I think I'm a little hard of hearing. I need you to say it just one more time. And LOUDER!"

"WE'RE WITH YOU! WE'RE WITH YOU!" they screamed to him.

"That's nice to hear. What about you, Malloy? Malloy? Oh, right. He's dead, isn't he? Boys, please be a dear and take out the trash." The Joker said as he wiped his shoes against the dead smiling man's face.

* * *

Ron adjusted the tie one last time as his car drove him to Gough Industries. He was still trying to figure out what the Joker was up to. He didn't have enough evidence to tell him anything, and he was running out of time. Who knows what that maniac would do while he was sitting around doing nothing. Of course, he was also thinking about last night with Kim, which was another problem for him. This was the reason he never got into a relationship or pretended to be a bit of a playboy. Without having to worry about anyone, he could think clearly. But now Kim was back. Kim was in his life again, so what did this mean?

He actually had thought he would never see Kim again after he went to Japan. He didn't know what she was doing or where she had gone. One of the possibilities he had thought of was that she had returned to her home world. But in case she did come back, he had Wade set up the roadblocks. He didn't want her to find him if she returned. He was barley anything like the man he once was. How could she ever love him now that he was so – different. But she does. She still loves him. Maybe there was still a chance for them?

"_Where have you been?! I've been trying to contact you all night!" _Wade said as he appeared on the Ron's car TV.

"Sorry, Wade. Something – kept me busy." Ron said.

"_Did it have red hair and green eyes?"_ Wade teased.

"You called to tell me something?" Ron said as he shot Wade a look.

"_I finally found out about your latest victim. It turns out he was in the witness protection program. He was one of Falcone's wise guys. Maybe the Joker is being paid to take out people who are trying put Falcone away."_

"I seriously doubt it. The Joker doesn't think like that. The only way Joker would become a hitman is if he thought it would be funny to him. Is there any other connection between the two victim's besides Falcone?"

"_I did find something interesting. It turns out that both of them worked on a series of jobs for Falcone. The last job they worked together was over a year and a half ago, when they tried to steal from the Axis Chemical plant."_

"I remember that. The Bat Wave picked up the silent alarm they triggered. But there was another person with them. I though it was the Red Hood, but it turned out to be a decoy."

"_I remember you telling me about it. The poor guy was so terrified of you that he fell over a railing and into one of the vats of chemical waste. The police never could find the body."_

That's when it struck Ron. It was a small chance, but it was worthy a shot. "Wade, do a search and see if there's a link between our two murder victims and Fat Toni." Ron said to him.

"_I'm running the search now. But why would – hang on. There is a connection. According to various police reports and testimonies, Fat Toni was one of Falcone's lieutenants."_

"Let me guess. He also planned some of the Falcone family's crimes?"

"_Try over half of them. Not too long after the botched theft at Axis, Fat Toni relocated to Metropolis to start his own syndicate."_

"There has to be more to this. The Joker went after these people for a reason. Keep searching, Wade. Look under every rock in Gotham if you have to."

"_Isn't that what I normally do?_

"I also need you to try and find that phone book. Maybe there's an impression of the other numbers in it."

"_I already hacked the Gotham PD crime lab about that. No such luck, Ron."_

"Do your own exam of it. There's still too much corruption in the Gotham Police Department. We need to make sure."

"_I'll do what I can. Wade, out." _

"What does that diseased maniac want?" Ron asked himself.

"Mr. Stoppable? We're here." The driver said to him.

"Thanks for the lift." Ron said as he handed the driver a crisp C note. "Go have some fun for a little bit." Ron said as he exited the car and went into the Gough building.

* * *

"Come on, Kim. You can give me the juicy little details." Lois said as she and Kim walked into the City Room

"I don't think so, Lois. The last thing I need to hear around here are the guys fantasizing about my love life." Kim said to her as they made a b-line to their desks.

"Oh, come on! I wouldn't tell any of the guys here." Lois said.

"You wouldn't?" Kim asked skeptically.

"Of course not. Just all the women in the office." Lois said as they made it to their desks.

"HEY GUYS!" Jimmy shouted as he rushed to the two reporters.

"Last time I checked, Jimmy; we had breasts and not a penis." Lois said to him.

"I just wanted to tell you that a bunch of people saw Batman last night!"

"Batman? The guy from Gotham?" Lois asked the young photographer.

"Yeah! He was roughing up some creep in the mob last night at the new club in downtown."

"Great. Now we have a psycho and a lunatic running around Metropolis." Lois said to herself.

"Jimmy, what kind of mood is Perry in?"

"POSSIBLE! MY OFFICE, NOW!" Perry shouted, making his voice reverberate off of the walls of the entire City Room.

"Never mind." Kim said as she went to talk to her editor. "Something wrong, Mr. White?" she asked him as she entered the large office.

"Possible, I'm guessing you just heard Olsen talking about the Batman sightings last night?" the old reporter asked.

"Just now."

"If that masked nut case is here, then the rumors about the Joker are probably true. Listen Possible, I know I've got you partnered with Lois. I alos know you used to go around saving the world a couple of years ago, but I want you to sit this story out."

"But Mr. White,"

"Kimberly, please. I know you can handle yourself. Hell, I wrote one or two articles about you before I became Editor. But the fact is that this guy is dangerous and you're still a little green as a reporter. So for now, I want you to cover Mr. Stoppable's business deal with Gough Industries." Mr. White said.

"I don't know about that, Mr. White." Kim said.

"And why's that?"

"It's just that – Mr. Stoppable and I – well,"

"Let me guess, you two are an item." Mr. White said, surprising the young redhead.

"How did,"

"Like I said, I wrote an article or two about you before you retired. I remembered him being your sidekick." He said. "But I still want you to back off on the Batman/Joker story. At least until you've gotten a little more experience under your belt." Mr. White said.

"I suppose I can't change your mind?"

"Sorry, Possible; but, that's my final word on it." He said.

"All right. Guess I'll get back to work." Kim said as she stood and went back into the insanity outside the office.

"Thank God she's easier to talk to than Lois." Mr. White said to himself. Because of his arguments with Lois, he was forced to buy a blood pressure monitor.

"So what was that about?" Lois asked as Kim sat at her desk.

"The bad news is that Perry yanked me off the story." Kim told her.

"He did what? I'll give him a piece of my mind that he won't-"

"Hey!" Kim said as he grabbed Lois by the wrist and set her back down. "He said I couldn't _work_ on the story with you. But I never heard him say I couldn't help." Kim said to her partner.

"Very sneaky, Middleton. I'm glad some of my advice is rubbing off on you." She said as she booted up her computer. "So what story did he give you instead?" Lois asked her.

"hetoldmetowriteaboutRonandhisbuisnessdeal." Kim said all at once.

"Say what?"

"He told me to write about Ron's business deal." Kim said asn daw the grin on Lois' face. "Me and my fat mouth."

"One word of advice. Just make sure the closet door is locked if you two try to steal a moment alone together." Lois said and laughed when she heard the redhead groan and bang her head against her desk.

* * *

In the dimly lit room, the man in the dark purple suit stood silently as the two thugs dragged in the struggling man. The man had a black hood over his head and his hands were bound in front of him. Muffled screams and shouts could be heard from under the hood as they dragged him into the light in the room.

"So the rat fell for the trap." The man said as he watched the two men force him into a stool that had been placed for him.

"It wasn't easy, boss." One man said.

"I have to admit, I am impressed. Now, let's see what the rat has to say." The man said.

One thug removed the hood that was over the man's head to show a middle-aged man. He had a few bruises on his face as well as a black eye. His hair was sweaty and a mess as it drooped in his face, and a large piece of gunmetal gray duck tape covered his mouth. The other thug grabbed the tape, and swiftly ripped it from his face. The man screamed in pain from the tape tearing out what little hair growth had been on his upper lip before he looked at his surroundings.

"You bastards! Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?" the man said as he struggled against the thugs holding him down in his chair.

"Joey Nails, the biggest stool pigeon there ever was." The man said as he stood in the shadows.

"I ain't no rat! How dare you even accuse"

"Oh shut up!" the man said as he backhanded the man across the face. "I need information, and you're the only one who can tell me."

"BITE ME!" the man shouted and spit at the man.

"Does this mean my new little birdie doesn't want to sing?"

"I'm no rat! I'll crucify you for this!" the man said.

"All right, we'll do it the easy way. Boys, you know what to do." The man said to the two thugs.

Both grabbed the smaller man and began to lift him up into the air.

"What are you doing? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" he demanded as they held him up. When he heard a loud clancking sound behind him, sweat began to pour down his face like a faucet. "WHAT'S GOING ON?"

"We'll, you said crucifixion. But since we don't have any giant wooden crosses, this will have to do. Drop him." The man behind him said.

The man began to scream in agony when he felt himself being shoved onto a hook! When the two men beside him let him go, he felt the hook sink deeper into his back and tear through his muscles. Has he screamed and cried in agony, he swore he could feel it pressing up against his ribs! Every time he moved, every time he even breathed, he felt it sink deeper and deeper a little bit at a time. All he could do was cry and whimper as he hung there.

"Now, is my bird going to sing or do I have to find something else to stick in you?" the man asked.

"I-I'll talk. I'll talk." The hanging man whimpered as he dangled in the air.

"Good boy." The man said as he patted the man's leg before grabbing it and pulling, making him sink more onto the large rusty hook. The man only chuckled as the man screamed again. "Now, what do you now about the Falcone family?"

"Are you nuts? The Falcone's will kill me if I say anything." The man said as he began to hyperventilate.

"My boy," the man said as he started to walk into the spotlight. "What makes you think I won't?" he asked as he revealed his sinister red smile on his pale white face.

* * *

"_So how did the meeting go?"_ Wade asked as Ron stepped into his hotel room.

"Pretty good. I was able to talk to the scientist in charge, and this looks promising." Ron said as he began to remove his tie.

"_So do you want me to draw up the contracts?"_

"Make sure you put in all the standard items in them. What about our little side project?"

"_It turns out you were right. There was an indentation of the names he had on that missing page. There were only three names on there, and the Joker has taken out two of them."_

"What was the last name?"

"_That's the weird part. It just says J. Nichols. But so far, I could only get an area code out of the phone number below it. Definitely Metropolis."_

"Nichols? Why does that name ring a bell? Have you done a background check?"

"_On what? Ron, there could be hundreds of people in Metropolis with that name."_

"Then you better get started." Ron said as he opened a special suit case he brought along.

"_I get it. I'll keep working on the number. What are you going to do?"_ Wade asked him.

"I'm fixing to go to work." Ron said and ended the link and looked out his window and saw the sun setting in the west.

As he pulled the communicator out of his ear, he reached into the case and pulled out the armored torso of a uniform that had a large silhouette of a bat with outspread wings on the chest.

* * *

"We're done with him." The man said as he released the chain Nails dangled from.

Nails cried out in pain as the chain fell slack and he crumpled to the ground. He had been suspended in the air by the hook and chain while his feet were in a container of cement. Now the cement was dry, and he laying limp as he whimpered in pain. The Joker merely chuckled at the sight before him. It was amazing how little it took some men to break them.

"What do you want us to do with him?" one of his men asked.

"I think he needs a relaxing swim." Was all the man said.

"Swim?"

"With the fishes?" the Joker asked him, but was growing frustrated at their blank faces. "Honestly, people! Does no one watch the Godfather anymore? Dump him at the docks."

"That's gonna be hard to do, boss. Cop patrols have doubled since word got out about you being in town."

"I've got that covered. Just dump this garbage." The Joker said to them.

It took them a few minutes to lodge the hook loose from his back. But the two gangsters were soon dragging Nails out of the warehouse and to the waiting car outside. As the car started and drove away, the Joker took out a small violet bag.

"They always did say I lost my marbles." He said as he knelt down and poured the contents of the bag out on the floor.

Marbles of various colors and sizes began to roll about on the floor as if they had a mind of their own. They seemed to be spreading out through all parts of the building as the Joker turned and began to walk away. As the Joker walked away from the rolling toys, he decided to start humming a children's tune.

"The monkey thought it was all in good fun." The Joker sung.

_**BOOM!!**_

"Pop goes the weasel." The Joker said before he began to laugh uncontrollably.

* * *

"That's the time? Already?" Kim asked as she glanced up from her search and glanced at her watch. "I didn't know I've been working that long."

"What's up?" Lois asked as she gathered her purse to go get something to eat.

"I'm interviewing Ron for an article. I was smart enough to convince him for an interview earlier tod – never mind." Kim said as she started to become a little flushed.

"I'll never understand how you're able to do all that." Lois said as she and Kim gathered their things together.

"Understand what?"

"Understand what? You've helped me find out about that other murder in Gotham that's connected to the Joker, and a few other details that I needed for my story. Now, you're going off to meet your little boy toy for an interview?" Lois said as she gave Kim a certain look as they walked out of the City Room and to the elevator.

"I'm sure Ron's a very busy man. Besides, this is strictly business." Kim said.

"And you want to tackle him and have your way with him." Lois said with a smirk.

"Remind me to change my locks." Kim groaned to herself.

"LANE! There's been an explosion near Hobbs Bay! Go check it out!" Perry shouted to them as they past his office.

"Do I get overtime, Chief?"

"DON'T CALL ME CHIEF!" was the only response he gave her.

"Need any help?" Kim asked her.

"No, go enjoy spending time with Stoppable." Lane said as they moved to the elevators again.

"Crap, I forgot something at my desk. Listen, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Kim asked as she began to walk away.

"Sure thing, Possible." Lois said to her as the young redhead turned a corner. "She's almost as weird as my cousin."

"Oh, and about Ron, Lois?"

"Yeah?" she asked, thinking she was going to be fussed at about teasing her.

"If I had things my way, I'd tie him up, stick in my closet, and have my way with him twenty times a day. Whether he liked it or not." Kim said and laughed when she saw the dumbstruck look on the older reporter's face.

Kim glanced through the wall and watched as Lois climbed into the elevator. As soon as she saw the machine start it's decent to the lower levels, Kim began to take another direction down the hall. For the past couple of weeks, she had been scouting a few locations for her to change in peace. So far, the only places were the broom closets here and there. Some of them had windows built into them, and she figured they had them in case something spilled and they needed a way to let the fumes escape.

Kim made her way to one that was at the other end of the building which was good for her. It was located near an alley that not too many people paid attention to, and that was perfect. She began to unbutton her blouse as she got closer to the door. When she stepped into the broom closet, she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw an old man in a one piece blue uniform and a navy blue hat. He was currently laying in a fold out cot while he read a gentleman's magazine.

"Not to be rude, but who are you?" she asked the man.

"I'm Scruffy; the janitor." He said.

"Then how come I've never seen you around here before?"

"I'm on break." He said to her as he slowly licked a finger and turned the page.

"Okay. Sorry for disturbing you." She said as she stepped out of the broom closet and closed the door. "Damn. Time to move to Plan B." she said to herself as she stepped into the stairwell and removed her glasses. Within moments, a blue and red streak was flying over the skies of Metropolis as the moon hung high in the sky.

* * *

The way he was crouched on the side of the building, he almost blended in with the gargoyles that were on either side of him. He had been keeping an eye out for anything unusual, but he hadn't found anything yet. In order to from one building to another, he had to use his grapple more often then he preferred. It was times like this he wished he could figure out how to bring the Tumbler with him. But the problem was that it was so massive and he couldn't just drive it down the highway. Felix had suggested taking it apart, but it would take too long to put it back together. Until he could figure something out, he had to use the grappler and the glider that was built in to his cape.

Right now he was in the part of Metropolis known as Hobbs Bay. It was close to the water front, and many of the people who made their living on the docs or on ships preferred to live close to the water. This area was also under control of Fat Toni, so there may be a few of his men still around for him to interrogate. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing at all. But that had been three hours ago, and there was still nothing. He might have to try and locate another associate of Toni's since there wasn't anything here.

"_Batman, it's Oracle."_

"What is it, Oracle?"

"_I finally got something. It turns out that J. Nichols is a known informant, Joey Nichols."_

"Joey Nails. Do you have a location on him?"

"_I did, but there's one problem. When he didn't report in with his contact, they sent a unit to check on him. His apartment shows signs of a struggle."_

"That means were too late. Keep monitoring it, Oracle. Batman out." He said and ended the link.

He was about to remove the grappler again when he saw something. He removed a pair of binoculars from his belt and began to look at what he had seen. It was a small car, but what made it stand out was its model. Most of the cars here were used and older models. Not to mention a few of them had faded paint or a couple of scratches or dents here and there. This car was brand new, and was the type that a person with too much time and too much money would buy. He should know since he had three of them in his garage back in Gotham City. There also weren't any plates on it which made it even more suspicious. For the moment, he'd keep an eye on it.

* * *

The drive didn't take as long as they thought it would. With that warehouse fire going on, the police would be trying to make sure that a riot doesn't break out and trying to find who caused it. But they knew their little window wouldn't be long. They had to take care of their business and fast. With the union still in their pocket for the moment, they knew they shouldn't be bothered. They drove Pier 23 which wasn't scheduled to have anything for another week, and parked the car on the doc. As the driver and passenger crawled out of the car, the passenger lit a cigarette and took a quick drag off of it.

"Man, you know I can't stand those things."

"Bite me, Mark. I need something to calm my nerves." The other man said as they opened the trunk and saw the bodies of Malloy and Nails. "How's the cement on their feet?"

"Dry as a bone." Mark said as he checked the large blocks of cement that were covering their feet. "Now help me lift these things out of here. Jack, would you stop smoking that,"

When Mark turned, there was no sign of his companion anywhere. He glanced all around him, and didn't see anything. He glanced back into the car, but saw that it was still empty. As he began to back away, he heard a small crunch. When Mark looked down, he saw that he had stepped on a cigarette. And it was still lit. His nerves were beginning to ge the better of him as he drew his pistol. If that lunatic was trying something, he wasn't going to fall –

"OW!" Mark shouted as he felt something pierce through his hand. As he cradled his injured appendage, he looked down to see what had struck him. When he saw what it was, his eyes nearly bulged out of his head. It was a strange boomerang that looked like a bat! "Oh, Christ." He said as he saw a large shadow begin to loom over him.

It was obvious that the first man was dead. There was a large pole jutting out of his chest, and his shirt was soaked with blood. He could see that there was also a flag attached to it. Judging by the capital B and A, there was a good chance it read bang. He placed two fingers against the man's throat just in case, but found nothing. No pulse, and the body was as cold as ice. He had been dead for quite a while. Then there was the second body.

The second body had a number of bruises all over his face. The body was on its side, and that allowed him to see the hole that was in his back. He didn't want to even try to think what the Joker had done to him. As he took a few photos, he noticed how the wound was directed upward, but it was too large to be a stabbing weapon. Most likely a hook caused the wound. There were also a number of knife wounds all over the man's body. Some were just flesh wounds while others were deeper. It was no secret this man had been tortured.

With his photos finished, he packed the small camera away and began to stand. As he pressed his fingers against the radio in his cowl, his eye caught something. The light out here was too poor, so he wasn't sure what he had seen. But there was something on the face of the second body. He reached into his belt and pulled out a small flashlight to try and get a better look. As soon as the beam of bright light was on the body's face, he realized what he had seen. It was a tear. A fresh tear was traveling down his face.

He pressed two fingers against the artery in his neck to try and find a pulse. It was there. It was weak, probably from the blood loss, but it was there. He was alive. If he didn't act fast, this man wouldn't be alive for long. The nearest hospitals was miles away though. He didn't have the Tumbler and an ambulance would take to long. There was only one option left.

"Oracle. Set the transmitter in my cowl to a higher frequency."

"_How high?"_

"High enough that only animals with four legs can hear it." He said.

"_Ready."_

"Here's hoping the city won't be too angry." Kim said to herself as she used her strength to crush a large pipe closed. She then flew up wars and ripped the top of the water tower it was attached to free.

* * *

It was heavier than she expected, but she could still hold it. As fast as she could, she flew back to the warehouse that was now a blazzing inferno. She hoped that there was enough water in this over grown canteen to put it out. When she saw she was directly over the blaze, she tossed the tank high above her head. As it began to fall back downward to Earth, she caught it with one hand and used the other to bash a hole in it. Water began falling in a steady stream and began to extinguish the fire below her. In a few minutes, the only left of the fire was smoke and steam rising from the warehouse's blackened remains.

That's when she began to hear a strange ringing in her ears. It was so strong and loud that it actually made her wince and temporarily loose her grip on the tank. She tried to fight through the painful noise and swooped downward in time to catch the large tank before it could crash. As she eased it down the rest of the way, she noticed that a few of the dogs that were around were also whining and barking. They could hear the noise as well.

"_Kim, I need your help. Now!"_ Ron's voice said in the noise.

Hearing Ron's voice, she immediately took to the air and listenened. It was giving her a bad headache to try and actually find the source of the noise, but Ron needed her. She focused on the the noise, trying to figure out where it was coming from. She closed her eyes and tuned out everything around here, listening. Slowly, everything around her faded as she listened to the noise only. That's when she found it. Not just the noise, but a heartbeat. Ron's heartbeat. Every person's heartbeat was as different as a fingerprint, and she would recognize his anywhere.

* * *

"About time you arrived." He said as he heard Kim touch down behind him.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she walked up to him. When she was beside him, she saw the two crooks that were handcuffed and the two dead bodies in the trunk.

"The Joker started the fire as a distraction while they dumped them. One's still alive though." Ron said as he went back and checked on the man in the back of the trunk.

"Barley. Ron, he's in really bad shape." Kim said as she used her x-ray vision.

"I can't get him to a hospital fast enough, but you can." He said to her.

"I'll do what I can." Kim said as she lifted the injured man in her arms and flew into the night sky.

* * *

"Anything yet?" Kim asked the doctor as she adjusted her glasses.

"He's been in and out of consciousness ever since we rolled him out of the OR. We repaired the damage in his back as much as we could, but whatever he was stabbed with was crawling with bacteria. He has a serious infection that we're trying to fight. We've given him antibiotics and some morphine. We won't know anything else for a while." The doctor said.

"I suppose I can't ask him anything?" Kim asked.

"It's the same thing I told the police. Not for a while." He said to her as he made a note on his chart.

"Thank you, doctor." Kim said as she turned to walk away, and winked at one of the near by windows.

Inside the room, Joey was trying to go to sleep. He just couldn't though. Every time he closed his eyes, he would see _him. _That pale face with those dead eyes, and that hideous grin, and he was always laughing. Every time that – that monster tormented and tortured him, that laugh would grow louder and louder. Every time he would cry, every time he would scream, every time he would beg for mercy, the laughter would get worse and worse. He was still having a hard time believing he was in a hospital bed.

He placed his hand on it, and felt cool sheets beneath him. It was a real bed. He was in a place that would make sure he would be safe. The police knew where he was, and the doctors and nurses were keeping an eye on him. Safe. He thought he would never be able to say that word again. He was safe from the freaks of the night. Or so he thought.

The lights began to flicker. Not just in his room, but in the hallway too. There was nothing wrong. That's what he was telling himself over and over again. It was probably just some old wires, or one of the other departments was using too much power. His heart beat started to rise when the power went out completely. That was one thing he hated about the dark. You couldn't see anything. When the lights in his room flickered for a moment, all was clear. It was when a few in his room came on again, that's when his heartbeat began to race.

"Long time no see, Nails." The Batman said to him.

"Oh, Christ. First him, now you. You've come kill me." Nails moaned.

"If I don't get the answers I want, you'll wish I had." The bat said as he seemed to almost float to the side of his bed "What did the Joker want with you?"

"I ain't saying nothing. I'm most likely already on Falcone's hit list by now."

"That's not what I wanted." Batman said as he gripped the IV bag. "If you squeeze an IV bag just a little, you can give someone a bad day. If you squeeze too much, it could prove fatal."

"Y-you wouldn't!"

"Tell me what the Joker wanted."

"I – I can't."

"Then I guess its time for a little trial and error." Batman said as he began to tighten his grip.

"WAIT!" Nails screamed, making the Batman pause. "Okay. H-he wanted to know about the Falcone's."

"Why?"

"He – he was l-looking for someone. Someone specific."

"Who was he looking for?"

"It was some qauck."

"I want a name. **WHO?**" Batman growled.

"His name was Lawrence Trask! He owed Falcone money, and paid it off by becoming his doctor for a while!"

"Why does the Joker want him?" Batman asked.

"I don't know! Honestly, I don't!" Nails shouted ass he began to cry hysterically again. "Please, that's all I know. That's all I know." He wept over and over again, keeping his eyes closed so he wouldn't have to look at the Batman.

"Mr. Nichols? Mr. Nichols!" someone said to him as he was gently shaken await.

When Nails opened his eyes, he didn't see any sign of the Batman. The lights were on, and the doctor was the only one in the room with him. He looked all around the room, but didn't see anything that suggested the Batman was ever there.

"W-what happened?"

"You were having a nightmare, Mr. Nichols." The doctor told him.

"Nightmare? Yeah, that's all it was. A nightmare."

* * *

"Did you get all that, KP?" Batman asked as he glided across Metropolis.

"_I got every word, and I'm searching now."_

"_Same here, Batman. One of us will let you know when we have something."_

"Hurry. I don't think we have much longer." Batman said as the morning sun began to rise.

* * *

This was already too long of a day for her as she sat behind the desk. She had worked a double shift, and had to help with several traumas and needed to get a cup of coffee before she passed out. She had been a nurse for over five years, and was starting to wonder why she was still at this job. As she let an exasperated sigh escape her lips, she saw a man in a black trench coat and dark violet fedora step up to the desk. Because of the angle of the hat, she couldn't get a good look at his face.

"Can I help you?" she asked the man.

"I'm looking for an old friend of mine, and I'm hoping you can help. He supposed to work here." The man said.

"His name?"

"Dr. Trask. His name's Lawrence, but he might be going be Larry."

"Let me check." The nurse said and typed in the name. She quickly skimmed the results, seeing if there was anyone working at the hospital with that name. But she had never – "Here he is. He's on the Twenty-second floor, maternity."

"Of course. Thank you so very much." The man said as he walked away.

"Weird guy." The nurse said and went back to work.

* * *

Kim was working through every piece of data her computer was calling up, trying to find a Dr. Trask. But without any other information, besides the fact that he worked for Falcone, there wasn't much.

"Anything on your end, Oracle?" Kim asked through a special communicator Wade had sent her.

"_I'm still looking."_

"_Hurry, Wade."_ Ron said in his Bat voice.

"_I think I've got something. Yes! Dr. Lawrence Trask! He worked at St. Joseph's Hospital on Gotham's East Side."_ Wade said through the communicator.

"I've got something too. From the looks of things, he's not a good doctor. He's been sued several times for malpractice." Kim said as she looked at the data.

"_What were the accusations?" _Ron asked.

"It dealt with babies he delivered. There's a few stating that he used bogus drugs that resulted in birth defects. A few are still born cases." Kim said.

"_Here's even worst news. The last patient he treated died due to complications. When the hospital did an autopsy, she had been given a medication that her chart specifically said she was allergic to."_

"Under his orders?" Kim asked.

"_No. He was the only one with her when she came into the hospital. His license was revoked and he dropped out of sight. Now he's in Metropolis and is fully licensed."_

"_What was the patient's name?" _Ron asked.

"_Her name was Felicia Napier. Wait a minute."_

"_What is it, Oracle?"_ Ron asked him.

"_I recognize that last name. I knew it, it's a match. Not too long after the Axis Chemical robbery you stopped, the plant soon reported that one of their chemists were missing. His name was Jack Napier. I even have the missing person's report that was filled with Gotham PD."_

"Wait a minute. Guys, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Kim asked them.

"_You don't think that this missing Napier guy is the Joker, do you?" _Wade asked.

"_It makes sense. The Joker has been targeting people that were directly involved with that robbery. And Dr. Trask worked for Falcone and was the doctor for his wife. Oracle, where does Trask work?" _

"_According to my data, he works at the maternity ward in Metropolis Mercy Hospital. That's a few miles from your location, Batman. Think you can get there?" _

"_I have to." _Ron said as he cut his link.

"_Kim, the Joker's bad news. Can,"_

"I'm already on my way, Oracle." Kim said as she dashed out of her seat and made her way through the city room.

She couldn't take the stairwell again, and she couldn't risk running into the janitor. Spotting an open window, Kim checked and double checked to make sure no one was watching her. She calmly leaned against the rail, constantly making sure no one was looking. Once she was sure it was safe, she quickly dove out the window and was flying through the city in her uniform.

* * *

He knew he wasn't supposed to have any kind of liquor in his office. Especially when he was on duty. But with everything he had done in his life, having to wrestle with the inner voice that kept shoving his past deeds in his face, it was the only way to clear his head. Even as he stood there, he kept thinking back. Thinking at how the Falcone family had paid him to use their drugs. Also being told to poison those other people they wanted taken care of. And then when he lost his license, he was forced to be their doctor for so long. Removing bullets, sewing wounds. He had become a tailor of human flesh. Even now, with him being a doctor again, he was still under their thumb. Without even thinking, he took a giant swallow of the Vodka bottle in his hand. He shook a little as he felt his throat burn as the liquid moved its way down his gullet. This was the only relief he had.

"Eh, what's up doc?" a voice asked him. He thought he knew it, but he couldn't remember. When he turned, he saw someone standing near the door. But the poor lighting and hat prevented him from seeing a face.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked the man.

"It's me. Sugar bumps."

* * *

Batman burst through the doors of the maternity ward, destroying the blockade Joker had created. He quickly scanned the area, and knew he might be too late. Several people were already dead, their throats slashed while others had sever stab wounds. But all of them weren't dead yet, Thank God. He knew help would soon arrive, but he had to press on.

He made his way through the floor, trying to find the doctor's office. When he paced by one waiting room, he couldn't help but flinch. Some of the people in there had died from either gunshot wounds, knife wounds, or exploding cigars. He just prayed the ones with the exploding cigars didn't suffer long. As Batman forced himself onward, he had to do his best to keep his under control. Every time he fought the Joker, he wanted to beat the hell out of him so badly for what he had done. Today was no different. He wanted to make that lunatic suffer for this. His anger soon gave way to shock when he saw the nursery.

The Joker didn't kill the babies, which was a miracle in itself. They were alive, but he knew their lives may not ever be the same. All of their faces were the same as the cried in agony and pain. The monster had set off a bomb of Joker gas that wouldn't kill them. Instead, all of their faces were forced and frozen into smiles. All of them. Now the bastard had gone too far. They were real innocents. They had only been in this world for a few brief moments, and he decided to make them suffer. This was unspeakable. Unforgivable.

* * *

"**I'm going to break him in two."** The Batman growled as he walked past. Joker would soon have to face the Batman's wrath.

"Sugar bumps? What are you talking about?" Trask asked the man.

"Oh, you don't remember me? After all the time we spent together? Being friends? You plotting behind my back?" the man growled.

"Jack? Oh my God. Y-you're alive? I-I-I had been told you were,"

"Fried? You set me up over a woman. A WOMAN! And to think, they call me insane."

"Jack, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just"

"DON'T GIVE EM THAT CROCK!" the man shouted as he pulled the hammer back of his pistol.

"Jack, please. Don't do this." Trask said.

"Is that what she said? Is that what she, your best friend, asked you before you killed her?"

"Killed?"

"Felicia. She was your friend, and you murdered her. She was – something special to me."

"You can't prove that."

"I don't care. I'm not turning you into the cops." The man said as he raised his pistol.

"You're life won't be worth spit! Do you know who I work for?!" Trask demanded.

"I've already been dead once already, Lawrence. I found it very liberating. You should consider it a kind of therapy." The man said as he chuckled.

"Jack, please. Don't. I had to do it. They had already set up the job, and I told them about you. When you wouldn't budge that first time, they told me to do it. I didn't want to kill her, I really didn't. But they said they'd kill me." Trask said as he felt sweat pour down the back of his neck.

"You still killed her, though. You're the last little piece of my past, and now it's time to pay your dues." He said as he took a few steps toward the doctor. "You ever dance with the devil in the pale moon light?" he asked him.

"Jack, please. Can't we cut a deal?"

"Jack? Jack is dead, my friend. But you can call me – Joker." The man said as he stepped into another light and removed his hat, revealing his scarred face.

"Oh, Christ. It was you."

"As you can see, I'm a whole lot happier now." The Joker said as he began to laugh uncontrollably and pulled the trigger.

Trask flinched, but stood there in his spot as he became confused. The only thing that came out of the barrel was a small pole with a sign that said BANG on it. The door was then knocked from its hinges, breaking in on itself as a giant menacing form stormed into his office, taking the shape of a giant bat.

"TRASK, GET DOWN!" the Batman shouted.

"What do,"

Trask never finished his sentence. With a loud explosive bang, the pole was fired from the gun. The pole pierced Trask in the middle of his force head with such force that he flipped over his desk and landed on the ground behind it as the back wall was decorated in a brief shower of crimson fluid. The Joker kept laughing uncontrollably the whole time, even as Batman grabbed him by his collar. Even while Batman beat him as hard as he could over and over again, he still kept laughing. Even with his nose broken, and a few of his teeth knocked loose, he was still laughing. It was like he had heard the world's funniest joke.

"Why, Joker? **WHY?!**" he shouted at the mad man.

"Life, Batman. Life is the joke, and the punch line is death. After so many years of the joke being on me, it's finally on them." He said to his arch enemy.

Batman threw the Joker against the other wall before he placed a hard punch across his face. He had to get a hold of his anger, or he might actually do something he would regret. He turned to let the police know where the Joker was, not realizing what was happening behind him. The Joker had begun to raise his gun and take aim at Batman's head. Another small laugh began to escape his throat as he pulled the hammer back.

"Say goodbye, Guano Man."

Before he could squeeze the trigger any further, the floor exploded as a red headed woman with a flowing red cape burst through and grabbed his wrist. As she jerked his hand upwards, she broke his wrist before she slammed his head against the tiled ceiling. For a brief moment, the homicidal mad man was in complete shock.

"You diseased maniac." She growled at him.

"Ooooh, a little fight in ya. I like that. Why not relax and smell the roses?" he asked as he used his free hand to move his coat aside, and sprayed acid all over her from a flower on his suit's lapel. Kim's scowl only became worse as the acid dripped on her face and began to eat away at part of her suit. "What the hell?"

"My mother made this!" Kim growled as she jerked the Joker upwards, causing him to hit a large pipe that was hidden.

"Good call." Batman said as Kim let him drop to the floor.

"Ron, please tell me you can help those babies." She said to him.

"The Metropolis PD has the formula for the anti-toxin, as do most of the hospitals. It should be able to reverse the effects." Batman said to her.

"I still can't believe this. Everything he's done, and all these people he's hurt. This was all for revenge?" she asked him.

"No, it wasn't. This was a hit job."

"Then who was he trying to kill?"

"Trask was the only living piece to who the Joker once was. With Trask and the others dead, there's nothing left of Napier. He was killing himself." The Batman said as he placed a pair of handcuffs on the Joker and turned to leave.

* * *

It had been a few days after Superwoman and the Batman captured the Joker. He was still recuperating in an isolated area of Striker's Island infirmary while preparations were being made to transport him back to Arkham Asylum in Gotham City. In the mean time, Kim and Ron had been trying to recover from their ordeal by spending as much time as they could together.

Kim knew that Ron wasn't the same man she had left in Middleton so many years ago. Some of the goofiness was gone, but she could still see it in him. But while part of the old Ron she knew was gone, the rest of him was still there. She knew he could achieve to higher goals if he had put his mind to it. And he had done that in spades. The part of him that couldn't stand to see anyone in pain or hurting, the part that always wanted to help others was still there. But now, it had grown past to making sure she was safe. Now, he wanted to make sure everyone could be safe.

He had become hardened and somewhat stand offish. It was like he had closed a part of his heart off from the world. But every time he was with her, every time they were together, she could see more of his old spark returning. That the barriers he had created were starting to fall. They were always up again every time he put on that mask, but that wasn't the part of him she was with. But now, she would have to wait again.

The day they had been dreading had arrived. It was time for Ron to return to Gotham City, and to help his new home in every way he could. Both were doing their best not to cry as they stood at the Metropolis airfield. They didn't want to say goodbye again. They had realized how important they were to each other. And now, they were fixing to be separated again.

_I'm lookin__g over the skyline of the city._

_How loud qui__et nights in the mist of crime._

_How next __door to happiness lives sorrow,_

_And signals of solution in the sky._

"I wish I knew the right thing to say." He said to her.

"Do you have to go back? Couldn't you move your headquarters to Metropolis? That way,"

"You know I can't, KP. Gotham still needs me, and I can't turn my back on it."

"I know. They still need their Dark Knight." Kim said as she bit her lip.

_How __sleeping awake because of fear._

_How childr__en are drowning in their tears._

_How w__e need a place where we can go,_

_A land where every one will have a hero__._

"What about you moving to Gotham? You could transfer to the Planet's branch there. That way,"

"No Ron. I want to. I want to be with you everyday, but you know I couldn't." she said.

"You can't blame me for wishful thinking." He said. "Does this mean we're breaking up again?" he asked her.

"No. We're not breaking up." She told him as she kissed him again, putting every once of passion as she could in it to let him know how much she loved him.

_A city of justice, a city of love, a ci__ty of peace  
for everyone of us._

_We all__ need it, can't live without it_

_A Gotham City__ (Oh Yeah)_

"I'm really going to be missing that." He said with a chuckle.

"At least we won't have to wait seven years, again. I think I can find stories that would need me to travel to Gotham City every once in a while." She said with a smile as she kept her arms wrapped around his neck.

"And I'm going to be coming back to check on the progress of my joint venture with Gough Industries. But that doesn't mean I won't miss you." He said.

_Yet i__n the middle of stormy weather,_

_We won't stumble and we wo__n't fall._

_I kn__ow a place that offers shelter._

"I'll miss you too, Ron." She said as she kissed him again. "Be careful out there." She said to him.

"You do the same." He said as the slowly let go of each other. "Goodbye, KP." He said as he turned and walked to the waiting jet.

"Goodbye, my love." Kim said as she watched him board the aircraft.

_A city of justice, a city of love, a ci__ty of peace  
for everyone of us._

_We all__ need it, can't live without it_

_A Gotham City__ (Oh Yeah)_

Even after they lifted off into the air, and when she made her way back to the planet, she kept her sight trained on his plane the entire time, until she couldn't even see it anymore. She wanted to be with him again, she wanted to take him up on his offer. But there was more she needed to do here before she could even think about it. But there was that one silver lining. She wouldn't have to wait seven years to be in his arms again.

* * *

You could hear the screams echoing down the halls as he was wheeled in. The piss poor lighting gave the gothic styled asylum the ominous feel to it. It was like you were walking into Dracula's castle after it had been renovated by Doctor Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll. The most depraved and psychotic resided within these dark walls, and it was also a site the bandaged mad man was used to. He hated to admit it, even after he tried to escape again. But he actually felt at home here. There was just something to it.

"What happened to him this time?" the lady psychologist asked as he was wheeled into his room.

"The Batman and that Superwoman broad did a number on him. He killed a bunch of people in a maternity ward and gassed some of the new born babies. If you ask me, they should have put a bullet in his head."

"I didn't ask you, officer. Now if you excuse me, I'll handle it from here." She said as she took the chart from the overweight officer.

"Your funeral, lady." The man said as he left.

As soon as the officer left, the young blonde woman made her way to the bed and sat near the head of the bed. She removed her glasses as she leaned in close to the man's scared face.

"How ya doing, Mr. J?" she asked him.

"If it ain't my favorite shrink. How ya doing, kiddo?" he asked her.

"I'm A Okay, Mr. J. And don't worry, pudding. As soon as you're well again, I'll help you get out of this rat hole. If you want, I'll help you blow this place to hell." She said to him.

"That sounds perfectly – hilarious." He said as he began to laugh again.

* * *

**Author's Note(s): **Since there's no certified origin of the Joker, I decided to wing it. And I know the arrangement for the lyrics to Gotham City are wrong. But the way I was hearing it in my head is sung by FabTheGap on YouTube. Sorry it took a while to update this one.


	9. A Piece of Home

Invincible

By FAH3

Interesting. The closer it approached the power signature, the worse the blizzard became. There is no reason that the weather patterns in this location should be acting this way. This must be one of the defense systems. But this was designed to keep out biological life forms. His new body might be composed of organic matter, but not the shell of his old form. It was logical for him to use the old shell as a vehicle and to keep his new form from dying. The sensor readings were indicating that it shouldn't be that long until he was though this storm and at the destination. That's when the artificial life form felt the shell stop. What was wrong?

It began to check the systems in the shell. They should be working at full capacity, so why would the shell stop moving? Wait. He had made an error. The storm was jamming the radar. It didn't detect a land mass until the shell almost impacted against it. Somehow, this power signature was also using the storm to jam its systems. That meant it would have to use this fragile new body. He disconnected himself from the robotic body, and opened the chest cavity.

Bitter cold instantly made him feel that the ice was stabbing his bare face all over. The sensation was strange. It was also distracting. It didn't need all this data this body was telling him. But this body was new to him. It had many similarities to a Kryptonian body, no doubt. But it didn't know which nerves to sever in order to limit this – sensation of feeling. It would have to wait. As he crawled out of the chest cavity, he saw what his shell had almost crashed into. A small smile crossed the artificial life form's lips when it saw the object in front of him. The shape, the structure, and everything else confirmed its theory. The structure was definitely of Kryptonian design. It had found Jor-El's refuge.

As soon as it was inside the mammoth structure, it immediately felt comforting warmth surround it. The environmental controls were still online. That meant either someone was living in this structure, or it was being visited frequently. Braniac studied every inch of the monument to Krypton, making sure it recorded everything it found. As it took a few steps forward, it saw the Crystals that were at the end of a walkway began to rise and shape itself. Within mere moments, the main control panel was in front of him. What a fool Jor-El was. Thinking no one would brave the storm to have at the secrets that resided in here.

As Brainiac touched one of the control crystals, a massive jolt of electricity was sent through him. All of his neural pathways froze and systems locked as the organic body was riddled with the massive amount of energy. With a flash of light, Braniac flew backwards until he hit the wall of the fortress and slowly slid downward. For what could almost seemed like an eternity, Braniac just sat on the fortress floor. Not moving, not breathing. With a small whine and a sudden jerk of his head, Braniac slowly sat straight as his systems began to come online again. After a brief diagnostic, he slowly stood back to his feet. It would seem he had underestimated Jor-El. There was a safe guard in the system after all. Knowing Jor-El, he most likely used bio metrics. The DNA of a member of the House of El may be the only key to accessing the data inside the fortress.

It appeared he would have to seek out the Kryptonian life sign he had detected earlier. But some things were still a puzzle to him. If Jor-El would flee with his family to this primitive world, why did he find only one bio signature? As Braniac began to walk, it took one last look at the panel. It would have to spend time studying the recorded data while he went to investigate. Or maybe not. He had to zoom in and make sure, but he may have found a key to accessing the computer systems after all. There was a single hair stuck in part of the panel. He removed the hair and began retrieving all files he had on Jor-El and his wife. As he placed the hair in his mouth, he began to analyze the DNA within it. A smile began to return to him as he saw the results. It was a member of the house of El; but female. No matter, it was what he needed.

He raised his hands to his face and watched as the nano bots within him began to go to work. He watched as the fingerprints on his fingers slowly burned away and re-grown almost instantly. They were the same fingerprints he had when this body was formed, but the DNA within them was now different. He slowly reached over to one of the crystals, and grasped it by his fingers. So far, nothing. He lifted the crystal from its place, and inserted in it in one of the empty data ports. Several of the large crystals came to life as a holographic image of Jor-El himself formed in front of him.

"_Welcome back, my daughter. What is it that you want to know?"_ the image asked Brainiac.

"Tell me everything." Brainiac said.

* * *

Only a few lights were still left on as the night watchmen made his patrol. This place might look wonderful and grand during the day, but it gave him the creeps at night. The Metropolis Museum of Natural History, the home to many various samples of rocks, meteors, fossils, and artifacts from all over the world. Of course, in the middle of the night with most of the main lights off, it looked like one of the houses you saw in the old black and white horror movies. It didn't matter how long he had worked here, he hated being the night watchman. He turned on his flashlight, and took a brief look around a few exhibits here and there. Making sure everything was still in place. After he glanced at all the bones of the ancient dinosaur's, all of them frozen in their poses for all time, and making the guard uneasy. He loved dinosaurs; had always been fascinated by them. But seeing the T-Rex and raptors like that with very little light made it almost seem like they were alive again. And the last thing he wanted to be was a snack.

As the guard walked away from the large exhibit hall, something strange began to happen. The floor in front of the T-Rex began to shift. Soon, several of the stone tiles jutted upward as a very dusty hand reached up from beneath the ground. The hand went back under the floor as several more tiles were pushed from their setting. The hole the hand had made soon grew larger and larger until two men in black, covered in dirt and the dust of broken concrete, pulled themselves into the exhibition hall.

"Man, how do I let you talk me into these things?" the heavier one asked himself as he dusted the dirt off of his clothes.

"Don't you start complaining now. In a few minutes, we're going to be up to our eyeballs in cash. Do you know how much some of that gold crap is worth?" the taller one asked him as he pulled a few bags out of the hole.

"Are they worth enough to get a new shirt? How did I let you talk me into crawling through a hole in the ground?"

"For starters, it wasn't in the ground. It was a bomb shelter. You're lucky I found the thing when I was still working for the city."

"Whatever. Can we just get the crap and get out of here?" the heavier man asked.

"Or you could come back during regular business hours." Another voice said.

"Did you say that, George?" the heavy set thief asked.

"I thought that was you, Dan." His partner replied.

"Then that means – oh no."

Both of them slowly turned around and gulped when they saw the figure standing there. Or should they say _floating_ there. Even though the person standing there was a very attractive woman, both of them knew that the red and yellow symbol on her chest all too well.

"I thought you said there weren't any alarms in this wing." Dan said.

"There weren't any alarms! I doubled checked."

"Oh, it wasn't an alarm that tipped me. And just to give you a piece of advice, it isn't such a good idea to tunnel through a floor. Especially when there's someone with super sensitive ears is flying over head." The floating woman said.

"What did she say?"

"Who cares? RUN FOR IT!" George shouted as both turned and ran into the precious stone exhibit.

Both were looking over their shoulders to make sure their would-be jailer wasn't behind them. When they turned their heads, a crimson blur flashed in front of them before they recognized that it was Superwoman.

"After being here for almost a year, you'd think criminals would learn. I'm afraid it's time to – to," Superwoman said before she closed her eyes and grasped part of her head. "It's t-time to," she said before she fell to her knees and began breathing hard.

The whole room was spinning in front of her eyes and she felt so weak. If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn she was getting – sick. She could already feel a heavy wave of nausea sweeping over her and felt her digestive track begin to go in reverse. Something wasn't right. What was causing this?

"Lady, are you all right?" Dan asked her.

"Are you crazy? Let's get the hell out of here!"

"But something's wrong with her, George."

"Yeah. That means its time for us to scram." George said and began making his way back to the hole before noticing he was by himself. When he looked back, he actually saw his partner trying to help the super hero to her feet. "WHAT ARE YO DOING?! DO YOU KNOW WHO THAT IS?!"

"I know who she is. You can call me a sap, but I don't think it's right to leave her there like that." Dan said as he helped her to one of the benches that were attached to the wall.

"Screw this! You can rot in Striker's for all I care; but I'm getting the hell out of here!" George said as he made his way back to the hole.

George stopped when the large skeleton of the T-Rex collapsed in a heap in front of him, barley missing him by inches and blocking his only exit. With that loud crash echoing throughout the museum, it would bring that guard running and he didn't have any weapon. When he looked to try and find another exit, he froze as he saw Superwoman's eyes were glowing a fiery orange.

"Or, maybe I'll just stay here." He said before he sat down on the floor.

* * *

"So far, everything looks good. We need to run a few more tests before we can begin human trials, but Dr. Irons insures me that we may have a prototype by next month." Sharon Gough said she looked at the monitor with Ron's image on it.

"_That's good to hear, Sharon. Send me the latest data, and I'll see what all my guys have to do to help out in the construction."_

"Will do. I really think this suit will change the world, Ron."

"_We can only hope it'll be for the better. I've got some other things I need to do, but keep me informed."_

"You know I will. Night, Ron." Sherri said and deactivated the call. That's when a second monitor lowered and the image of her chief scientist, Sydney Happerson, appeared on it. "What do you have for me, Happerson?" she asked him.

"We finally procured the data from NASA. I think you'll find this interesting." The doctor said as the other monitor flickered back to life. Photos of the Earth began to appear in chronological order, each with a time stamp of almost twenty-six years ago.

"What am I looking at?" she asked him.

"These are photos from one of NASA's satellites. As you can see, they were taken several years ago. But here's what's interesting about them." Happerson as the photos began playing one after another in a slideshow.

So far, several photos just looked like normal photos of the planet Earth she had seen so many times in museums and in school. She became more focused when she noticed something. It was out of frame, but she still saw it. It was a bright flash of light. Not too long after the flash, she saw something flying into frame.

"Go back to that last photo and pause it!" Sherri said.

There it was. When it froze on the screen, Sherri got a good look at it was. The picture was somewhat blurred, but it was there. She knew there wasn't anything that occurred naturally in space to make something that sleek and aerodynamic. "It's a ship!"

"Ma'am?"

"Sorry, Happerson. Continue." Sherri said as the photos began playing again, and Sherri watched as the ship descended into Earth's atmosphere and over the North American cotenant. "Once I find out where that ship is, I'll have technology and an edge no one would ever come close to for thousands of years." Shego whispered with a sadistic grin.

She knew that the knowledge of Kimmie's origins would pay off one day. Ever since she found out that her friend was an alien, the possibilities of finding her technology kept plaguing her mind. All the advancements she could make. And all the money she could rake in by exploiting every circuit. Now, she was one step closer to finding it.

As the photos began to play, her curiosity began to rise as she saw several meteors enter the frame. They were certainly odd looking as several drifted into frame and began to enter the planet's atmosphere. Each meteor entered the atmosphere in different parts of the world. As she continued to watch the slideshow, her eyes began to widen at what she saw next. As one large meteor in particular drifted into frame, the same time a strange colored comet streaked into view and collided in a massive explosion. Sherri was frozen into place as she watched the collision and gasped when she saw. From the center of the massive blast streaked a rainbow colored meteorite!

Sherri quickly looked at the time stamp that was on the photo and felt like she was going to be ill. The time stamp was the exact date the comet hit the tree house. Or at least, they thought it had been a comet. Oh God, it was a meteorite. All this time, it had been a meteor. She couldn't believe it.

"_Miss Gough, we've just attained some interesting video footage."_ The head of her security, Mercy, said over the intercom.

"Not now!"

"_Ma'am, I think you really need to see this." _Mercy said.

"Fine. Play it." Sherri said as the slideshow disappeared. It was then replaced by the video footage from inside the museum, taken only moments ago. "Kimmie." Sherri growled as she saw the young heroine dash in front of the two bumbling thieves.

When Kim stumbled to the ground, her interest peaked. She rewound the tape and played the same scene over and over again. Something was making her sick, but what? Shego paused the tape, just as Kim fell to her knees and looked at the area around her. There wasn't anything special around her, or in that exhibit. She should know, her company donated most of those rocks. Wait a minute. Shego zoomed on one rock that had caught her interest. She could almost swear that it was glowing.

Shego rewound the tape, but still kept it zoomed on the rock. So far, it was just a normal rock. But as soon as Kim stepped in front of it, it began to glow with an inner light. Shego paused it, and saw it was glowing green. So many things began to come flowing back into her mind as she saw the rock. Her mother dying from the radiation from a piece of the comet that hit them, how her powers always seemed to make Kim weak. Her mind was wrapping around the forming thought in her head like it was the Holy Grail, but a part of her brain was denying it. Could it truly be that simple?

"Mercy?" Sherri asked as she hit the intercom.

"Yes, Miss Gough?"

"Get down to the Metropolis Museum. There's a rock on display that I want." She said to her assistant.

"Which one?"

"Bring in all of them. I want Happerson to do a thorough check on every square inch of them. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'm right on it." Mercy said and the intercom went dead.

"Can it really be that simple?" Sherri asked herself again as she kept her eyes glued to the rock on the video footage.

* * *

He kept his eyes locked on the redheaded woman in front of him as she paced back and forth while she kept wringing her hands like they were a soaked dish rag. He knew this woman like an open book and knew she only acted like this when she was truly worried or confused. And hearing the reason why almost made it hard for him to believe it as well. After she had finished, he began to understand why she was so upset.

"Ron, this is all so weird. I've never felt like that. Ever!" she said as she kept pacing back and forth.

"I can imagine. But Kim, you're going to have to calm down."

"How can I calm down, Ron?"

"You're going to have to try because you're walking a rut in my floor." Ron said and pointed to the floor.

Kim looked down and saw that Ron was right. She had been pacing back and fourth at such a speed that she was worn away the burgundy carpet and had formed a small rut in the hardwood floor. A small nervous giggle escaped her lips as she took a seat on a near by couch as she began to blush.

"Sorry, Ron." Kim said.

"It's okay, KP. Ever since I started 'dressing up' for my night life, I found out insuring everything is a smart idea." Ron said to her as he left his chair and sat beside Kim. "Did you ever found out what made you sick?"

"No. I was too scared to. With all those police there and everything," Kim said and trailed off.

"That might have been a smart move. The less people that know about this, the better." Ron said to himself.

"Ron, what do I do?" she asked him.

"Go back to the museum."

"What?"

"Go back to the museum, but not as Superwoman. Just go there for a visit, and pay close attention. The minute you feel sick, back off and try to remember what ever was around you." Ron said to her.

"Can't you just buy the museum?" Kim asked him as she used her most powerful weapon. The puppy dog pout.

"KP, I can't buy everything. Besides, the museum is owned by the city of Metropolis and they won't sell." Ron said to her.

"You know that – how?" Kim asked him.

"Long story; don't ask." Ron said. "So when do you have to head back to Metropolis?" he asked her.

"I don't have to go in until noon tomorrow. So I can stay all night if I want." Kim said as she leaned in and kissed Ron on the lips.

"All night, huh?" Ron asked her.

"Yup." She said as she kissed him again.

"Does that include a little – physical fun?"

"Maybe." She said as she kissed him on the lips, and holding the kiss a little longer.

"Too bad. I've got to go on patrol." Ron said to her with a grin.

"You jerk!" Kim said and slapped him in the arm, controlling her strength.

"It was a joke, KP." He said with a laugh.

"A joke, huh? How about this for a joke? I'm going home." Kim said as she stood to her feet.

"Kim, I was kidding." he said to his best friend as she made for the door and closed it behind her as she left. "Oh, come on!" Ron said as he heard a sonic boom over his mansion. "Damn." Ron groaned to himself.

It had been several years after they had graduated high school, he had become a master ninja and the fear of Gotham City criminals, and he was still sticking his foot in his mouth. He kept mentally kicking himself in the head as he left the library and made his way upstairs. He had to admit, it felt good to tell a joke and be his old self again. As he made his way to his bedroom door, he gave himself one more mental kick for pulling the joke on Kim. When was he ever going to learn not to make a woman angry?

He opened the door to his bedroom and took a few steps inside before he froze. Bathed in the moonlight that was coming from his open terrace window, wrapped in only the pale white silk sheet of the large bed, was Kim lying in a very sexy and seductive pose. From the way the sheet somehow seemed to hug every curve of her body, you could see that the sheet was the only thing that kept her from being completely exposed to Ron's gaze. As she lay there as a vision of unbelievable beauty, he kept gazing at her like she was a living dream.

"I decided at the last minute to spend the night anyway." She said with a smirk that matched the predatory look in her eyes.

"Oh – uh, really?" Ron said as he felt all the blood in his body rush to his face and southward.

"How about you come to bed and keep me warm?" she asked him, almost purring.

"I think I can go along with that." Ron said as he closed the door and locked it.

* * *

Shego stood in the large chamber, wearing a form fitting black bodysuit that was almost as tight as her old cat suit was when she worked for Dr. Drakken. Her hands were lit with her emerald fire and blazing like a Kerosene soaked torch as all the sensors and camera within the metal that lined the chamber took their readings and gathered all the information they needed.

"How much longer, Happerson?" Shego asked as she felt more beads of sweat form on her forehead and roll down the back of her neck.

"Not too much longer, ma'am. The sensors just don't have an accurate enough reading.

"Not accurate? What the hell do you mean not accurate? I've been in this damn thing for over half an hour!"

"We could place the sensors on the sample without worrying they would burn up. With you on the other hand,"

"I get the point! All right. You want an accurate reading? I'll give you an accurate reading." Shego growled as she began to concentrate.

With a loud shout, like a caveman going in for the kill, the once smooth chamber almost exploded as mast of blast of emerald energy forced it to expand to its limits. Several computer panels sparked from the overload several technicians ducked or ran. As the chamber slowly opened and fell apart, the inside was charred black with dark grey smoke rising from what was left. As Shego walked away from the ruined technological marvel, she looked straight into Happerson's frightened eyes.

"Did the computer get a good reading then?" she asked him as another tech brought a chilled bottle of water.

"Y-yes they did." He answered as he tried to control his bladder.

"Good. God, that thing was like an oven." She said as she ripped the burned top of the body suit off, and tore the cap off the bottled water. "My tits aren't the computer screen, Happerson." Shego growled when she noticed where the doctor's eyes were fixed.

"SORRY!" he said as loud as he could and focused his vision back to the monitor and not his topless boss. "I-it seems my hypothesis was correct. The radiation your body emits matches the radiation that the sample is giving off." He said.

"That doesn't make sense." She said as she gulped down half the bottle of water. "If this thing is made of the same stuff that hit my brothers and me, how come no one's dead?"

"Dead?"

"A small chunk from the meteor that hit my family was buried in a flower bed my mother used to work on. It slowly killed her after being exposed to it for several years." She said to the doctor that was doing his best not to look at her.

"That's where another part of my theory comes in." Happerson said as he brought up an image of the collision in space on the larger monitor overhead. "I think what happened is when the comet and the meteor collided, the heat and force of the blast altered some of the basic compounds of the meteor. Instead of killing you, the radiation in the fragments altered your DNA instead. I guess you can say it passed on its powers to you."

"Then what about my mother?" she growled.

"I'm not saying the explosion changed all of it. Most likely, the sample that killed your mother was a pure sample. It wasn't changed by the fusion of the elements from the comet." Happerson said.

"And what will this sample do to Superwoman?"

"I'm not sure. From what we've seen in the footage we were supplied, the radiation had a more severe effect on her. And if that's true, then that means there's a strong connection between them." Happerson said and confused Shego.

"What do you mean a connection? How?"

"Our tests show that there are elements within this thing that aren't even on our periodic table. But there are several similar traits to what we usually find when we research core samples from drilling companies or studies in archeology."

"Wait a minute. Are you trying to tell me this thing is from another planet?" she asked him.

"I think the proper term would be was. From what I can see, this was once a part of a world. And if that ship we found is what brought Superwoman to Earth, then that means the sample is from that sector of space you've been having many of us doing research on." He said and called up two images. "This is the area that Superwoman indicated in her interview with Lois Lane. The image on your left was taken several years ago. In the highlighted sector, there's something there. It's most likely a planet. Images on the right were taken almost two years after you were struck by the meteor. The planet isn't there, and there seems to be evidence of a large asteroid field that wasn't in the other photos. Superwoman did say she was sent here before her home world of Krypton was destroyed." Happerson said.

"Incredible." Shego said as she looked at the rock, and saw how it began to glow. It all made sense to her. Every time Kimmie got sick when she used her powers, why her clone grew so much stronger, and why she was sick at the museum. She had found Kim's weakness after all this time. And her body was generating it like a power plant. "Good work, Happerson. Now stop looking at my ass." She said as she threw the bottle at his head and stepped into the elevator where Mercy was waiting for her.

"Mercy, There's a special task I need taken care of. Get me John Corbin as soon as you can." Shego said.

"He's currently in Riker's, Sherri."

"So? Mail him a nail file and make sure he's here as soon as possible."

"Affirmative." Mercy said and made a note in her PDA.

"Oh, and clear my afternoon schedule. I need a good work out." She said.

"Do you want me stop the elevator at the gym?"

"That wasn't the type of work out I had in mind." Shego said slyly as she reached her hand out and began to firmly stroke and fondle Mercy's ample ass.

"Yes, ma'am." The young woman said with a smirk as she began to unzip her skirt and lower it to allow her employer better access.

* * *

Here she was. The repair crews had already fixed the damaged floor, which was at least some good news. But she still couldn't move past the spot where the crooks had entered. She had to do this. She had been telling herself this all day; that she needed to find out. Once she knew what had made her sick, she would be able to find out how to prevent it. She had to calm down or she would draw too much attention to herself. She probably already was just by standing there for several minutes and looking off into space.

She took a quick breath, tightened her hands into fists, and started to walk. So far, so good. Nothing bad was happening. She was now in front of the bench she was sitting on that night, and still nothing. That had to be a good sign. Right? She shook the thought out of her head and kept moving. She just had to keep walking. She saw herself stopped and just kept looking at the only exhibit left. The rocks. She was only a few steps away from where she had been standing when she felt ill. If she felt ill again, she'd lie and just said she hadn't eaten anything in a while. Now this was the moment of truth.

She took three more steps and waited. She took two more steps, but still nothing. Wait, she was past where she had been standing when she busted the two burglars. And here she was feeling fine. She walked the rest of the way to the rocks in their cases, and stopped when she was several inches away. She even placed her hand on the wall, in the middle of all the rock displays, and nothing. Something wasn't right. She had been over this whole area; the whole museum just to make sure. But there was still nothing that was making her sick.

"Nothing's happening." She said to herself.

"Duh! Did you think they were supposed to?" a ten year old boy said before he joined the rest of his class that were looking at the reassembled T-Rex skeleton.

"Now I know why some animals eat their young." Kim said to herself and turned back to the rocks. She couldn't figure out why nothing was happening to her. She glanced to the side and saw one of the guards near by. Maybe he could tell her something. "Excuse me, sir?"

"Can I help you?" he politely asked her.

"I'm Kim Possible, from the Daily Planet." She said as she flashed him her ID badge. "I'm doing a follow up to the burglary Superwoman stopped. Has the museum done anything different since the robbery?"

"They installed a few more security systems since then, and they already had to remove a few artifacts from the displays. Oh, I almost forgot. They also changed out the geology exhibit." The guard said to her.

"You mean the rocks in the cases?"

"Yeah, those. It was something about a few of them being misclassified or labeled. Something like that." The guard said to her.

"I see. Thank you for your time." Kim said with a small smile before she headed toward the exit.

As she left the museum and, five words kept going through her mind. What do I do now? She still didn't know what made her sick and was back at square one.

"This day couldn't get any worse." She said to herself as she walked down the museum steps.

As she tried to wave down a cab, her hearing picked up the sounds of a large explosion. As she listened, she noticed it wasn't close. In fact, it wasn't anywhere in the city. It was coming far away from the city. When she heard several sirens going off at once, she realized the source of the explosion. It was coming from the Striker's Island Penatentary! Forgetting about the cab, Kim began to jog down the street to try and find a safe place for her to strange. Her eye caught sight of a near by alley that had seen far better days, and looked bad enough for a bum to say no. Double checking her surroundings, she began to run down the alley at super human speeds. In a rapid blur of colors, Kim flew out from the alley wearing her blue leotard uniform with her family crest on the chest and a red cape flowing from her shoulders.

* * *

As John Corbin pulled himself back onto his feet, he tried his best to try and stop the ringing noise that was echoing through his ears. He was still trying to understand what had just happened as the dust began to settle and the ringing grew louder. He had just been delivered his lunch with a small card attached. The card had read "Duck" on it, and then it seemed like he was in the opening battle of Saving Private Ryan.

Corbin used a finger to try and clear his ears, hoping to improve his hearing. When he withdrew the digit, he grimaced when he heard the ringing only grow louder. It took him a few moments to realize that it was the fire alarms going off with the escape alarms. As Corbin stumbled out of what was left of his cell, he was shocked to see a young woman with a very athletic build waiting for him.

"Mr. Corbin?" she asked him.

"Who wants to know?" he asked the woman as he coughed from the dust.

"You have a meeting with Miss Gough." She said as she handed him a duffle bag. When Corbin unzipped the bag and looked in, he smiled.

"Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint her. Now would I?" he said as one of his large trademark smiles appeared on his face.

* * *

"This is Striker's Island Prison to the Coast Guard! We have a Prison break in progress! Several convicts are currently aboard three prison transport boats! We need immediate assistance!" a guard said before several shots ricocheted over his head.

On the docks below, two convicts kept firing at the guard posts with weapons they had stolen from disoriented guards. As they kept firing, one doing its best to try and shoot the guards, several others climbed onto the waiting boats.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go!" one convict shouted as the other two boats began to speed away.

"I'm trying to nail one of those pigs!" the large man said as he fired two more rounds.

"We don't have time for that! Let's go!"

"Come on, Rocko!" the other armed convict said as he untied the boat and jumped in.

"Not until one of those little pigies squels!" the man said and fired again.

"Forget him, let's just go!" one of the other felons shouted toward the boat driver.

The boat soon began speeding away fronm the dock, leaving their fellow inmate behind. As the prison began to gradually shrink in size, a few of them began to relax. If they could find a place to hide and change, they may be able to sneak out of town. A few glanced ahead and saw the other two boats ahead of them. They were surprised that the coast guard wasn't coming after them. You'd think you'd at least see one of their ships in the distance or something. When they saw the lead boat flip in the water, a few of them began to worry. That's when they saw the second boat flip and capsize right in front of their eyes, leaving them the only ones still making a break for it. What was going on? Did they put land mines in the water?

The boat began to rock and saw uncontrolably, making most of them fall out of their seats and land on their backs.

"Where the hell did you learn to drive?" one inmate shouted.

"It wasn't me!" the driver said as he picked himself up and looked out the window. "JESUS!" he shouted as he fell back to the floor and held onto to a part of the boat.

"What's wrong with you?"

"W-We're f-f-f. We're f-f-f-f."

"Spit it out!"

"We're flying. We're flying!" he shouted.

Several ran to the edge of the boat and were astonished to see the ocean below them. They were flying! But how was that even possible? As one kept looking closer, he thought he noticed something odd. He kept looking, trying to figure out what he saw. There it was again! It was a – a red cape?

"It's Superwoman! She's under the boat!" the con shouted.

"That bitch? Give me that gun!" a taller con, Joey the Bull, said as he took the weapon that had fallen on the ground. "Let's see the alien freak dodge this." He said as he began to fire randomly into the deck of the boat.

The rest of the boat passengers rushed to the side, hoping to stay out of the way of any stray bullets. The wood splintered as he kept firing, hoping to hit his mark. He kept pulling the trigger a few more times after the clip emptied. As he lowered the gun, a small smirk began to form.

"Let's see her walk that off." He said to himself.

"If you shot her, why are we still flying?"

"Say what?" he asked.

That's when a hand punched through the deck and firmly grasped the Bull's ankle. With a swift small turn of the wrist, the hand twisted Bull's leg far enough to make him fall and hit his head against the deck. The force of the impact sent Bull into a slight delirium as the boat continued to fly back towards the island prison.

"Does anyone else want to try and start something?" Superwoman's voice asked clearly from beneath the ship.

* * *

Far from the shores of Striker's Island prison, a woman observed the blue and red clad superheroine dropped one of the escaping boats into the prison courtyard and go after the remaining criminals that were trying to swim to shore. A small chuckle escaped her lips as she lowered the binoculars and retunred to the waiting car that had Corbin changing out of his wet suit and into some dry clothes.

"What's so funny?" he asked her.

"Nothing in particular." She said as Corbin sat in the backseat of the car to put on a pair of new shoes. "You can finish changing on the way to Gough Tower." She said as she placed the air tanks in the trunk and returned to the driver seat.

"Why should I even think about talking to Miss Gough? She left me to take the fall for the last job I did for her."

"Because you let yourself be caught. But you're services are needed again, Miss Gough has decided to overlook your failure."

"And if I decide to go about my merry way?" Corbin asked her.

Before he could move, a small shrill beeb began to resinate throughout the car. As it continued to beep, Corbin found himself not able to move. Nothing would respond. Not his arms, legs, or even his neck. The only thing he could move were his eyes. He kept glancing all about the car, trying to find out what was happening. Then he spotted it. It was in the roof of the car. It was so small, he didn't see it. It looked like a small miniature cell phone with a glowing red dot in the center. It was emitting the strange beeping and paralyzing him.

"It was a little something our R&D department thought of. Sadly, our government benefactors wanted weapons that could kill, not immobilize. This means I could do anything I want to you." Mercy said as she removed a switch blade knife from her pocket and began to lightly drug the edge against Corbin's face. "You know, I owe a lot to Miss Gough. She found me on the streets, nothing more than a worthless little punk. She took me in, fed clothed me, and had a lot to teach me. I owe her my life if you think about it. So if she asks me to bring back your face?" she asked as she cut Corbin along his cheek. "Or something else?" she asked and placed the tip against Corbin's unprotected crotch. "I won't have any problem doing so. Now, are we going to make sure we meet with Miss Gough?" she asked. When she heard Corbin groan in response, she smiled. "Perfect." She said and deactivated the paralysis.

"Crazy ass bitch." Corbin said to her as he applied pressure to the cut on his face.

"Flattery gets you no where." Mercy said as she closed his door and went to go climb into the driver's seat.

* * *

"Mr. Corbin, it's nice to see you again. Cut yourself shaving?" Sherri asked as the hired thief entered her office.

"Actually, your mongrel of an assistant got a little rough." Corning said to the woman.

"Sorry about that. Mercy enjoys her job a little too much. Can I get you anything?" Sherri asked as Corbin took a seat in one of her leather chairs.

"How about telling me why you busted me out of the joint?"

"Always to the point. I require your services." She said.

"Really? Then why should I work for you when left me out to dry for that last job?" he asked her.

"You blew a simple smash grab job, Corbin. Do you realize what I had to do to make sure those power cells got shipped?" she asked him.

"That wasn't my fault! Is that super bitch hadn't shown up and blown everything, I would have gotten the job done!" Corbin said, becoming offended.

"I don't like excuses. But, you were mostly successful with the other tasks I had for you. So I've decided to give you another chance." She said to him.

"My normal fee isn't going to cover it this time. Call it bad manners, but I don't like to work for people who screw me over." Corbin said to her.

"How does one and a half million now, and one and a half million on completion sound?" she asked him.

Corbin just looked at her for a minute with a blank stare. It was as if his whole brain had shut down for a moment or so. Was she actually serious? That much money for a job? There had to be strings attached.

"What's the job?" he asked her.

"I recently discovered a strange rock. It turns out, this thing give off a certain radiation." Sherri started.

"Radiation?!"

"It's not harmful to humans. However, its radiation may be harmful to a certain little blue bird in a red cape." Sherri said and smiled when she saw the realization of what she was talking about enter Corbin's mind.

"And you want me to test it out, right?" he asked.

"Maybe." She said to him.

"Make it an even two million now and an even two million on completion, and I'm in." Corbin said to her.

"Then it's a deal." She said.

* * *

"Hey Middleton, you feeling okay?" Lois asked as she noticed the look on her partner's face.

"Yeah. Just a little down." Kim said.

"Anything I can help with?" Lois asked her.

"Not really. I – thought I had a lead for a story and it was a bust." Kim said.

"I've been there before. Actually, I've been there several times." Lois said as she sat at her desk.

"Lois, what do you do when you've lost a lead?" Kim asked her.

"Personally? I pig out on chocolate and coffee before I go out and find another lead." Lois said. "In fact, I was just about ready to drive my car off the Hobbs Bay to get an interview with Superwoman." Lois said to her. When Lois saw her young partner begin to chuckle, her eyebrow began to rise in curiosity. "What's so funny?" she asked her.

"That story of yours just explained why you had three air tanks in the trunbk of your car." Kim said.

"How did you know I had them hidden in there? Lois asked her.

"Remember when you gave me a ride hom the other day?" Kim asked her.

"Damn! I knew I forgot something! I was renting those, and they were supposed to go back a month ago." Lois said as she buried her head in her hands while Kim cracked up laughing.

"LOIS! KIM!" Jimmy shouted as he skidded to a stop by their desks.

"Slow down, Jimmy. What's the rush?" Kim asked him.

"It just came in over the wire. The police are evacuating Gough Tower. Someone just called in a bomb threat." Jimmy said.

"It's got to be a hoax. Gough Tower has more security than the white house." Lois said.

"I'm not kidding. They've even called the bomb squad and everything." Jimmy said.

"Kim, get your stuff. We're,"

Lois stopped talking when she saw that Kim's desk was empty. Both Jimmy and herself looked around the office but couldn't see any sign of her.

"I guess she already went ahead." Jimmy said.

"And that means she's going to beat me to another scoop. Grab your camera Jimmy." Lois said as she grabbed her purse.

"It's Jim, you know."

"MOVE IT!" Lois shouted as another part of her father's personality began to show.

"What's wrong, Lois? Afraid of getting beat by a greenhorn?" Mr. Warfield asked from his office.

"Up yours, tubby!" Lois responded as her and Jimmy got into an elevator.

"THAT'S GOING TO FAR, LANE!" Warfield shouted as Mr. White exited his office. He could clearly see the publisher's face had become a deep purplish red. "WHITE!"

"My doctor's going to be doubling my blood preassure meds by the end of today. I just know it." White said to himself as he saw Warfield coming toward him like a rabid bull.

* * *

"I want everything within a fifteen block radius cleared of here! If this thing blows, we're going to have a reinactment of a Godzilla movie!" Dan Turpin shouted to the officers that were doing their best to follow the detective's orders.

"How can I help?" a voice above him asked. The detective looked up in time to see Superwoman land in front of him with very little effort.

"You can help by getting out of here! The last thing I need is some vigilante with,"

"DAN!" another voice shouted behind him. It was the only other person, beside his wife, that could make him stop in mid ranting and make him look like a child with his hand caught in the cookie jar. His partner, Captain Sawyer. "Right now, we need all the help we can get." The woman said as she brushed a lock of her chestnut brown hair out of the way.

"Have you found the bomb yet?" Superwoman asked the police captain.

"Not yet. We still have several more floors to go, and we haven't had any luck in the first few lower levels. I understand you can see through walls?"

"Yes, I can."

"Good. I need you to see if you can find it." Sawyer said to her.

"I'm already on it." Superwoman said as she began to focus her vision on the massive building in front of her.

Several rooms in the building were lined with led, preventing her from seeing into them. Despite the situation at hand, this made her wonder. Why would Sherri have rooms lined with led? What could be going on in an office building that needed – what was that? She had found something on the thirty-first floor. It was a strange object that had been attached to the ceiling of the room. It was large, almost like a gym. It was empty, with nothing that seemed to be important. As she focused her vision on the strange machine, she could see a timer was on it. And there was five minutes left on it.

"You've got five minutes!" Superwoman said as she shot into the air like a speeding bullet and peirced the structure like it was tissue paper.

* * *

Kim soon came up through the thick floor and found herself in the empty room. There was very little lighting in the room, but it was large. There wasn't that much dust, so the room must have been used until recently. She didn't have time to wonder why Sherri had a room cleared out. She had to defuse that bomb before it was too late.

Before she could properly examine it, she heard slow clapping. She could tell it was coming from an empty doorway that wasn't lit. That's when a tall man wearing a white teank top and a pair of freshly pressed slacks emereged from the door way with a large smile on his face.

"More powerful than a locomotive. And just as graceful." He said.

"I remember you. You tried to steal the hydrogen fuel cells."

"Smiling John corbin, at your service." He said as he took a bow.

"This is a step up, isn't it? Terrorism?"

"It's not what you think, my dear. You see, you cost me a good portion of my reputationwhen you caused me to blow that job. And I thought a little payback was in order." John said as he cracked his knuckles.

"So you planted a bomb to get my attention?" She asked him, unable to believe his train of thought.

"To get your attention? Yes. But a bomb? I'm not insane, young lady. Let's just call it an equalizer." John said as he saw the timer tick down to zero.

With a small beep, a small metal orb rose from the machine. It looked like a led lamp hanging from the ceiling, making Kim to stay on her toes. When the metal orb opened, it revealed a large chunk of a green rock that seemed to glow with an inner light. As soon as the rock was exposed, Kim immediately began to feel sick to her stomach and became light headed. She could barley stand, could barley keep her focus. It was the same feeling she had at the museum that night!

"W-where? Where did you?" Superwoman asked as she braced herself against a wall.

"A gift from a friend. And since you're feeling under the weather, that means I can do this." Corbin said as he calmly walked up to her and gave her a hard right hook that sent her sprawling to the floor. "What's wrong, princess? Not yourself today?" Corbin asked as he kicked her in the stomach, expelling the air from her lungs.

She braced her arm against her ribs, trying to regain her breath as she coughed a few times. She had felt pain before, when she was younger. But it had been a while since she felt anything this intense. She had to find a way to get away from that rock.

"You know, you embarassed me beyond belief with your little hero stunt. And prison made it even worse." Corbin said as he kicked her again. "They reminded me everyday of how I was beat. They even infasised that it was by a woman. Well today, I'm changing their opinion." Corbin said as he tried to kick her again, but missed as she pushed herself out of the way.

Acting quickly, Superwoman kicked Corbin's feet out from under him in a quick sweep. Corbin stumbles but was able to regain his footing.As he looked up, Superwoman's fist firmly connected with his chin, breaking the skin.

"News flash, smiley. I don't need my powers to fight back." She said and tried to fight the constant wave of nausea.

"Famous last words." Corbin said as he spun and aimed a kick for Superwoman's face.

She was able to block his kick, pushing it away and sending a swift punch into the base of his spine. Corbin staggered as grimaced from the pain. She might not have all of her strength, but she had enough to give him a hard time. Time to play with the gloves off. Corbin charged the heroine and swung, only for her to block. Corbin swung another right hook, but quickly backed off when she blocked and jabbed her in the face with his left. Superwoman stumbled backwards against the wall, trying to force the pain away.

In her moment of disorientation, Corbin rushed her and tightly grasped her throat.

"Not so spunky now, are you? You little cu,"

Superwoman firmly slammed her elbow into Corbin's throat, almost crushing his adam's apple and his windpipe. Corbin staggered backward gasping as Superwoman fell to her knees. She was feeling worse the longer she was exposed to the rock, and the fight was quickly wearing her down. She didn't know how much longer she could last, but she wasn't going down to this creep.

She narrowed her eyes as she swept Corbin's feet out from under him, almost cracking the bone. As he began to fall forward, Superwoman rushed upwards and firmly shoved her knee into his abdomen as hard as she could before backhanding him with her fist and smashing his nose. She watched Corbin fall and tumble to the floor before she fell to her knees. She felt like she was fixing to vomit her entire stomach as she felt more and more of her strength ebb away from her. She didn't know if she had anything left in her.

"Very cute, bitch." Corbin said as he staggered to his feet. He was hunched over with one arm clutching his stomach while another applied pressure to his broken and now misshapen nose. She could tell that her backhand probably broke several of his teeth as she watched crimson colored drool escape from his mouth. "I'd sue you for assault, but I don't think you're going to be around much longer." he said as he lowered his hand from his nose, and removed a knife from his pants pocket. "With the money I'll get for this, I'll make sure the doctors make my face look like someone else. So long Super,"

The sound of Corbin getting hit in the back of the head echoed throughout the room. Corbin's eyes glazed over as he stared out into space before collapsing in a heap. Kim looked to see who rescuer was and jumped when she saw a man standing there with glowing red eyes. He looked up at the machine that held the green rock and frowned. The man began to float upward and ripped the rock free from the machine that held it. With one powerful throw, he sent it flying out of a window and over the skies of Metropolis.

"H-how did you?" Kim asked as she slowly began to feel better.

"I'll explain later. Right now, I have to get you out of here." He said in a deep voice and lifted Superwoman in his arms. HE could hear police coming and had to leave fast. Concentrating hard, the man phased himself and Kim through the wall and flew as far from Gough Tower as they could.

* * *

"How are you feeling?" he asked as they sat under the large globe of the Daily Planet.

"Better now. I've got a few questions." She said to the man as she felt the rays of the sun beat down on her, restoring her strength.

"I imagine you do, Miss Possible." He said to her.

"How do you know my name?" she asked him as her eyes widened.

"Actually, we've met before. During that little incident at Bueno Nacho with your clone?" he asked her.

Kim had to think hard for a moment, recalling those events so many years ago. Realization slowly came to her as she finally looked at him again.

"You're that detective." She said.

"On Earth, my name is John Jones." He said with a small chuckle.

"On Earth?" Kim asked him. It slowly started to make sense to her when she thought about what he did back there. She knew humans classified as Meta-Humans were starting to emerge, but she never heard of any with the powers this man displayed. And as far as she knew, no Kryptonian could phase through a wall.

"No, I'm not Kryptonian." He said to her.

"How did,"

"I heard you thinking it. One of my abilities is telepathy." He said to her.

"Okay. You're not human, and you're not Kryptonian. What are you?" she asked him.

"Perhaps I should show you." He said as he eyes began to glow red again.

Slowly, his white skin began to shift and change color. His face became broader as his cheek bones rose. His nose became smaller as he brow lengthened and his hair receded into his head. Soon, all of his body hair disappeared as he became broader and his muscles became more well defined under his clothes. Soon, his skin turned a solid green as his body stopped shifting. Kim couldn't help but gawk at what she had just seen.

"At least you're taking this better than most people." He said and could hear the multiple questions forming in her head. "My real name is J'onn J'onzz. I'm a Martian." He said to her.

"A Martian? B-but they've sent probes to Mars. There's been no sign of life there." Kim said.

"I know. I'm the last one." He said solomly. He could tell Kim wanted to ask more questions, but she was holding back. She didn't want him to become upset at explaining his story. But she deserved the truth. "If you want to know, all you have to do is ask." He said to her in a calm voice.

"I've got so many questions." Kim said as she tried to think. "Well, how did you get here?" she asked him.

"I arrived on Earth in the year 1955. A scientist named Mark Erdel had created a device, thinking it would send a transmission to Mars. Instead, it teleported me to Earth. When he saw me, he literally died of fright." J'onn said to her.

"I'm so sorry." She said to him.

"It's okay. Before he died, he kept apologizing to me for what he had done. For years, I tried a way to return home. But his machine had been destroyed after he tested it and he didn't keep and plans for it. I knew human technology at the time was still too primitive, and I knew I may never see home again. So I settled down in Gotham and became a police detective. I've had to change my name and history every so often, but it's been a good life." He said to her.

"I knew there was something odd about you that day. I just couldn't put my finger on it." Kim said with a slight smile. "What about now? Have you tried contacting Mars lately?"

"I was able to in the early 80's. I couldn't find anyone, which was odd. So, I was able to establish a link with a computer and found out the truth. A few years after I left, Mars had sunk into a war with a race of white Martians. After years of fighting, they were able to put the white Martians into suspended animation. But it was too late. The white Martians had unleashed a plague that attacked our mental abilities. There was no known cure for it, and it soon devastated the planet. That's when I learned I was the last of my kind." He said to her.

"Oh my God. I'm – I'm so sorry." Kim said, feeling her heart go out to him. In a way, she felt like she could understand what he was going through. "If it helps, I'm the last of my kind too."

"I know. You're the last Kryptonian." He said to her.

"You read my mind?"

"No, I read that article Lois Lane wrote about you." He said and chuckled with her. "I also assumed that when Mars lost contact with Dax-Ur." He said to her.

"Do what?" Kim asked him.

"You've never heard of him?"

"No." she said to him.

"I thought there would be some mention of him to you." J'onn said to himself. "Dax-Ur was a Kryptonian scientist. Years ago, we intercepted a transmission from Krypton. It was a message of greetings and the offer to trade knowledge. After some debate, we responded. After months of communications, we received plans to build a transporter. Or what the Kryptonians called a Star Gate.

After it was complete, one Kryptonian came through it. His name was Dax-Ur. Wanting to learn of us and our solar system, he lived among us for several years. After collecting knowledge about us, he began to study our sister planet. Earth. He began to frequently use one of our vessels to travel to earth and back. Every so often, he would send data files back to Krypton using the Star Gate. Then one day, it stopped working. Dax-Ur tried to bring it back online, but he never succeeded. After he gave up, he ventures back to Earth one last time. After that, we never heard from him again. In fact, it was because of that Star Gate that I'm here." J'onn said.

"Wait a minute. Are you tell me that,"

"That Dr. Erdel's machine activated the transport. One of the reason's I became a detective was to find Dax-Ur. It's been over fifty years, and I haven't found one trace of him." K'onn said.

"Maybe I can help." Kim said.

"How?"

"I'm a reporter. Maybe I can look for clues he might have left behind. Think of it as my way of saying thank you for saving me." She said to him.

"You would help me find Dax-Ur? Even though my world is dead?" he asked her.

"It's the least I could do." She said to him.

"All right." He said and shook her hand. "By the way, I took care of your clone." He said as they stood and he shifted back into his human disguise.

"You did? How?" Kim asked him.

"Let's just say, I drunk her under the table." J'onn said. "Until we meet again." J'onn said and phased through the roof of the Daily Planet.

"Until next time." Kim said as she slipped through the roof entrance.

* * *

After countless days, he was finished. All the data that had been stored in the computers of the fortress now resided in his brain. The data he now had was interesting. But that also meant he now had a better understanding of who was hiding among these humans. With a brief chuckle, he began to bring the communication systems online. After reconfiguring a few key programs, he programmed the necessary coordinated into the computer.

He brought the system online, and saw several crystals come to life. There was a brief hum and the sound of static before a deep, scratchy voice began to sound through the fortress. One the Brainiac wanted to hear.

"_What is your status?"_ the raspy voice asked him.

"My Lord, I have infiltrated the outpost on Earth. But I have sad news."

"_What is it?"_

"I'm afraid Jor-El is not on Earth."

"_WHAT?!"_

"My readings told me there is one Kryptonian on Earth, but it appears that Jor-El died on Krypton with everyone else."

"_Then who is on that planet?"_

"I found a DNA trace, my Lord. It is a blood member of the house of El, but it is female." Brainiac said.

"_Kara. So Jor-El sacrificed himself to save his child. How noble of him. What do you know about her?"_

"The fortress maintains links with various transmissions on Earth as well as in space. It would appear that she is using her unnatural abilities to help these primitives." He said.

"_Like father, like daughter. Have you been able to gauge her abilities?"_

"No, sir. Not as of yet."

"_Then I believe it's time to put my god child to a test."_

"You wish me to fight her, my Lord?"

"_No, you fool. You're the only one that can release me from this prison! Find someone else and monitor them."_

"I believe I may already know of a candidate." Brainiac said and tapped into the data the computers had gathered from transmission in space. "Here it is. Bounty Hunter, mercenary, and assassin. He has the death penalty in over fifty systems, and has survived twelve of their executions. Several flags in his file indicate a strong love for violence as well as clinically psychotic."

"_Perfect. Make sure you tell this – tool__, not to kill her."_

"I understand, my Lord." Brainiac said as the connection shut down. He knew that would happen since a connection could only be held for so long. He quickly looked at any more information he could find on the creature he had found the file on and located his known whereabouts. Without hesitation, he opened a comm link to the specific destination.

"_This better be Fraggin good!"_ a very gruff, and very inebriated, voice responded.

"It should be. I require your skills." Brainiac said to him.

"_Wrong number, Clyde. The prostitute is down the hall."_

"No. I require your services in eliminating someone." Brainiac said. He knew what Zod said he wanted this Kara alive. But if she was a threat, it would be logical to eliminate her now.

"_A hit, huh? Well, that's gonna cost you. Triple my normal fee."_

"Money is of no object to me." Brianiac said.

"_Okay. Who and where?"_

"Your target goes by the name Superwoman. You'll recognize her by of the red and yellow coat of arms she wears. Her location is on the planet Earth."

"_And the time frame?"_

"As soon as possible."

"_All right. How do you want me to take her out?"_ he asked.

"Use any method you wish." Brainiac responded.

"_This is going to be fun. Consider your little bastich problem fragged."_ The voice said before the link went dead.

"Excellent." Brainiac said to himself.

* * *

Next Time in Invincible

As Zod and Brainiac begin to plan, Kim's abilities will be put to the test.

From the other side of the Universe, the worst the galaxy has to offer will come to Earth. And peace will be far from its mind.

"Lights out, Fragger."

THE MAIN MAN


	10. Street Brawl

Invincible

By FAH3

He ached all over and his face was in pain. As he slowly started to become aware of his surroundings, he gently probed his mouth with his tongue and discovered why his jaw had been hurting. He could feel at least two teeth in his upper jaw were missing and maybe three or four more in his lower jaw here broken. He could feel them jutting out of his gums like shattered pottery. As he tried to sit up, he realized his hands were shackled together behind his back. He tried to stand, and found his feet were also bound. It was dark in the room, and he couldn't see any detail or clue to where he was.

"Am I back at Stricker's?" he asked himself.

"No, you're not." A voice echoed.

A large door opened, bathing the room in light for a moment. As he looked at the opening, he saw someone step through it and walk straight towards them. When the door closed, a large overhead spotlight came to life, revealing his visitor.

"Miss Gough?" he asked her. "Where the hell am I?"

"You're still at Gough Tower, Mr. Corbin. This building has many secrets, and only I know every one of them."

"Then why am I locked in here? I almost had her!"

"You were ordered to test her abilities. In other words, a brief fight. What the hell did you think you were doing trying to kill Superwoman?" she asked him.

"I was putting that disrespectful tart in her place. She cost me my reputation. She had to learn that when kick a lion in the balls, it bites!" Corbin said as he spit out a small amount of blood that dripped from his broken teeth.

"I didn't want her dead, you idiot. Now thanks to you're stupid ego, I lost my rock and now I have police snooping too close to my business." She growled at him.

"So now what are you going to do? Send me back to prison? Hand me over to the cops like a roasted pig?"

"Oh, Johnny. I'm afraid I've never been that generous." She said as the spotlight cut out and the door opened again. "I hope you're not afraid of the dark." She said as she left and the door closed behind her.

"YOU CRAZY BITCH! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! YOU CAN'T!" Corbin screamed as the door closed and locked itself, echoing within Corbin's new prison like a tomb being sealed.

"How long are you going to leave him in there?" Mercy Sherri as they headed to the main elevators.

"Until he learns that no one tries to screw me over." Sherri said as she punched the button for the elevator to open.

"What's up with you lately?" Mercy asked as they stepped into the elevator.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean with you and Superwoman."

"Nothing's going on." Sherri stated firmly.

"I'm not that stupid, Sherri. Ever since you found out about that rock, you've been acting goofy. Now what's going on?" Mercy asked.

Sherri took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Merci could be a pain in the ass most of the time, and could be a bit too nosy. But she was the only friend she could really trust right now. And her fighting skills were unmatched.

"You know who I used to be. Right?" Sherri asked her.

"Vaguely. I knew you used to work for that nutcase, Drakken."

"Well, there's a little more. Before I worked for Drakken, I was actually a superhero." She said.

"You?"

"As hard as it is to believe, yes. A stupid little team my idealistic brother, Hego, created."

"Hego? Hold on, you were apart of Team Go?" Mercy asked her, remembering some of the stories she heard about the rag tag heroes. Mainly at how incompetent they were when the fifth member of their team left.

"Yes, I was. Not too long ago, I finally found evidence of where Superwoman's ship may have crashed. Along with it, I found out how I got my powers. A larger chunk of that rock collided with a comet and crashed on top of us. I've been a freak ever since then, and it's all because of her. I don't whether or not to love her or hate her anymore." Sherri growled as she felt her temper begin to boil.

"But why should you care about her, anyway?" Mercy asked her.

"Because she saved my life. More than once." Sherri said as the elevator stopped and she stepped into her office/apartment. "Have you found out what happened to the cameras yet?"

"Not yet, Sherri. They were recording up to where Superwoman backhanded Corbin, and then they were destroyed."

"What about the rock? Have we found it yet?"

"Sort of." Mercy said reluctantly. She gulped loudly when she saw the glare Sherri shot at her.

"What do you mean, sort of?"

"I've found out that STAR Labs now has possession of it. As well as all the data we had on it."

"Our data? Do you mean to tell me that they have everything _we_ recorded about that thing?" Sherri demanded as she began to give off a faint green glow.

"Every megabyte of it. That means we have a mole somewhere in the company." Merci said to her.

Sherri slowly turned and faced the large windows that surrounded her office as her fists began to shake with rage. The glow that surrounded her began to grow brighter as a low growl started in her throat, and began to grow louder. With a loud shout of rage, her whole body became lit with a massive burst of energy, shattering the windows in front of her into tiny shards. Mercy covered her face during the blast and slowly began to look back up. The energy surrounding Sherri's body began to grow dim as what was left of her clothes fell to the burnt floor.

Her fuse had always been short. It was to be expected after going through the torturous hell known as public school. Mixed with the power that flowed through her veins, it almost made her a ticking time bomb. Her anger was still pulsing through her, but not as strong as it was when she exploded. She didn't even care that she was now standing nude and letting the high rises of Metropolis get a good look of her natural state. She had given up on modesty ages ago. She turned back to her stunned assistant and walked to her until they were standing toe to toe.

"I don't care if you have to beat the living piss out of everyone in the building. Find out who the mole is, and throw them out. Make sure they'll never even work in a sewage treatment plant! Understand?"

"Y-yes, ma'am." Mercy said to her.

"Good. Now get to work." Sherri said to her and watched her quickly leave.

With another sigh, she walked to the stocked bar she kept and grabbed a bottle of Wild Turkey. She didn't care for this stuff, but it was the only bottle that didn't get destroyed during her temper tantrum. She pulled the cap off and took a large gulp of alcohol. Mercy had raised a good question. What was up with her and Superwoman?

Kim was her friend, she had been for a while. But it was also because of her that she was a freak, and it was because of her that her mother was lying six feet under the ground. But she had saved her. This was only supposed to be about taking the technology of her ship to gain an edge. And still keep the friendship intact. And now she discovers this. What was she going to do?

She looked at the alcohol in her hand and frowned. Her grandfather died drinking this crap because of what he saw in World War II. She wasn't going to fall into the same sinkhole like he had. She threw the bottle into the air before a small emerald fireball destroyed it. She had to put her feelings toward Kimmie to the side for now and concentrate on the now. And there were only two things she needed to concentrate on. One was the project she had going with Stoppable International. And the main one was finding the mole in her company and squash it.

* * *

Kim sipped the warm cup of coffee in her hand as she over looked the article in front of her. Sometimes she hated acting like this. She had finished the article almost an hour ago and she had to act like she was still working on it. This was so frustrating at times. Every time she was needed as her alter ego, she had to think of a way to duck out of sight. Of course when she first started, she forgot to pay attention to what she was saying. One time she said she was going out for lunch, and walked right back in not five minutes later. She had to tell one of her co-workers she had forgotten her purse. But ever since she started her job here, she gave up having a purse and started carrying around a wallet and something else for her makeup.

Rubbing her eyes over her glasses, she took another quick glance at the article before she saved it. A click here and there, and it would be waiting for Perry to glance at in his office. Maybe now she could try and figure out where to start looking for Dax-Ur. She thought back to what J'onn had told her and went back to re-examining it. J'onn knew Dax-Ur and said he had left Mars after the Star Gate went off-line. One thing was for sure, the Star Gate wasn't shut down because of the Civil War on Krypton. In Earth's calendar, it didn't start until the late 1980's. So what would make the Star Gate shut down?

The other thing she had to figure out was when he came to Earth. It had to be before 1955, so where could he have landed? She wish she knew what Dax-Ur had been studying. Maybe then she could have a clue on where she could start looking for him. Unless it was Dax-Ur that had crashed in Roswell, New Mexico. With a loud groan, she gave up her train of thought and drained the rest of her coffee. She was good at piecing together the plots of mad scientists, not this. Too bad she wasn't a detective like her boyfriend.

"Hey, Kim. Have you seen Lois?" Ron Troupe asked her as he walked by.

"She's investigating a lead. Something to do with that gun smuggling story of hers." Kim said.

"Maybe we'll luck out and they'll ship her halfway across the world." Mr. Warfield said as he walked by.

"That's not really a nice thing to say Mr. Warfield." Kim said as she got up and walked back to the coffee machine.

"Nice story the other day, Possible. I was imressed." The old man said as he followed the young reporter to the break area.

"Thank you." Kim said to him. She hated being around the old fat man. He was rude, conceded, and an all around sleeze. The less time she had to spend around him, the better.

"It's such a shame you have to work in the trenches and let such talent go to waste." Mr. Warfield said to her.

Kim could tell he was leading on to something. She had seen and heard it too many times in her life. She hoped this guy was just going to ask her out. But just in case, she slipped her hand into her pocket and turned on her miniature tape recorder she kept for interviews.

"I don't mind the work. I actually enjoy it." Kim said as she refilled her coffee and began to add cream and sugar.

"But you could do a lot more here if you were to go up in the ranks. And I could help you crawl out of this dead end job if you wanted. But hekp doesn't come cheap." He said as he began to get too close for her comfort.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kim asked him as she narrowed her eyes, but still kept her back to him. His breath stunk of garlic and onions.

"Let's just say that if you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours." He said and started to put his hand on her butt.

"Hands off, Mr. Warfield!" Kim said as she turned and brushed his hand aside.

"Come on, Possible. One little romp in the hay and you could probably get your own column in the evening edition." Mr. Warfield said to her.

"I don't trade sex for favors." Kim growled at him.

"That's what several reporters said. But they changed their mind when they saw what I could do to their careers." Warfield said as he got close to her again and placed his hand on her thigh.

"And I said no! Now get your hand off me!" Kim said and shoved his hand off of her.

"Get this through your head. You want a career in this business, then you have to go through me. One little word, and I can have you in the mailroom sorting through the letters for Dear Abbey. So you don't really have a choice, do you?" he said as he tried to make another pass at her.

Warfield instantly started groaning in pain as Kim's hand shot out, and started crushing something important to him in his lower extremities. As she applied more pressure, the man began to feel his knees start to weaken.

"I said no, Mr. Warfield. And if you lay another hand on me, I'll make sure you won't be able to walk straight for a very long time." She said and let go.

"You bitch! I'll make sure you'll never work in this town again!" Mr. Warfield growled at her.

"Like hell you will."

Warfield turned to see Perry White standing behind him. His face was so flushed that it looked like he just had another argument with Lois.

"You fat slime ball. I always heard rumors about you, but I kept hoping they weren't true."

"Don't get high an mighty with me, White. You're no saint yourself. Besides, it's my word over hers."

"Actually, it isn't." Kim said as she removed her tape recorder and played part of it back,

"_Come on, Possible. One little romp in the hay and you could probably get your own column in the evening edition."_

"_I don't trade sex for favors."_

"_That's what several reporters said. But they changed their mind when they saw what I could do to their careers."_

The shock that was in Mr. Warfield's face was only brief as his anger began to boil his blood.

"Troupe? Call security, and make sure the police know that the Planet will be pressing charges against Mr. Warfield." Mr. White said with a smug grin.

"Already did, sir." Troupe said to his boss as two security guards entered the newsroom and walked straight to Mr. Warfield.

"WHITE! YOU'LL HANG FOR THIS! I MEAN IT!" Warfield shouted as the security guards dragged him out of the City Room.

"Oh, blow it out your ass!" White shouted before he disappeared into the elevator. As White turned, he noticed all the other reporters looking at him. "I waited years to say that to his face." White said with a smile and was rewarded with thunderous applause. "Now what are you standing around here for? This is a newspaper, and we've got a dead line to make!" White said as everyone went back to work.

* * *

You call this a city? What a joke. He'd seen small colonies that had a lot more action and life than this piece of crap. From what he saw on that internet database he found, he thought this would be bigger. Maybe he should have headed to that place called Vegas instead. As the large figure kept puffing on his large cigar, he couldn't help but notice a few of the people gawking at him. What the hell was their problem? They never seen a bad ass before? Judging by the way the panty waists looked, probably not.

"Nice threads." One of them said, wearing a black leather jacket, black jeans full of holes, shaved head, and enough piercing in his face to make him a pair of metal underwear. What made him smile at the kid was the large detailed picture of a grim reaper on his shirt.

"At least one person on this rock has some taste." He said to himself.

As he blew out a puff of almost black smoke, he noticed the dryness in his mouth. This always happened to him when he had to travel. He knew he had a hit job to take care of, but that can wait. He needed a good drink. Only problem was, which one of these pieces of crap buildings was a damn bar? Maybe he could find out. Reaching out his large hand, he grabbed the nearest person that walked by. He looked at the hairless monkey in the eyes and blew one more puff of smoke in his face.

"Jesus!" the man said as he was held by his shirt and suit by the large – thing.

"Not my name, pal." He grunted, his voice sounding like a diesel engine from a World War II battle ship. "Where can someone get a drink in this hell hole?" he grunted.

"A bar?" the man asked as he began to shake.

"What do you know; it can understand me. Of course I'm talking about a bar." The large thing said.

"Um – I-I think there's one on Shuster Ave. J-just go to the next light and take a left. I-it should be four or five blocks down." The man said to him.

"Thanks, Fragger." The large creature said, but slowly began to frown. He slowly looked down when heard a trickle of water. He saw a steady stream of yellow liquid falling from the little man's pants and onto his leather, titanium toed, leather boots. A loud growl came from his throat as he looked back to the little man he was holding. "That's got to be the gayest fking thing I've ever seen." He growled before throwing the man over his shoulder.

* * *

The atmosphere was thick with cigar and cigarette smoke, making it almost impossible to breath. The whole place stunk of stale beer, old puke, and piss. He could see the few reaming stains of blood on the walls as well as a few poorly patched holes. A few were bullet holes, the rest were either made by fists or someone's head. If he didn't know any better, he'd swear he was home. At least there was on place that actually knew how to live. As he walked in, he began to frown when he heard the sounds of what almost sounded like a dying dog. He looked and saw it was coming from a jukebox. He stomped his way toward it and read what was playing.

"Who the hell is Waylon Jennings?" he growled to himself and slammed his fist on top of it, making it stop.

"HEY! I WAS LISTENING TO THAT!" a biker with a bald head said as he walked to the tall man from the bar.

"Does it look like I even care?" the large man asked him.

"You better put that back on or I'm gonna make sure you're pissing from your ass." He said as he pulled a large sharpened Bowie Knife.

"You're gonna use that toothpick?" the large man said before lifting his right arm and revealing the thick heavy chain that was wrapped the entire length of his forearm. In his hand was a large, even thicker, Iron hook with obvious blood stains on it that was attached to the chain. "I think mine can do more damage." He said with a sadistic grin.

A chuckle came from his throat as he saw the biker drop his knife and run away. He made his way over to the bar and placed his weight on one of the bar stools. The metal bar holding up the stool groaned in protest as it began to support his weight, almost bending in the center.

"What'll it be?" the bartender asked him.

"Give me the strongest, cheapest brew you got." The man said as he puffed on his cigar again. Within a few moments, a mug full of beer with a decent head sat in front of him. Opening his mouth wider than anyone thought would ever be humanly possible for anyone, he poured every once of the beverage down his throat with a room shaking belch following. "Not bad. It ain't the best brew I've had, but it'll do. How about another one?" he asked.

"Coming right up." The bartender said as he took the mug.

"Hey, have any of you ever heard of some chick name Superwoman?" he asked out loud.

"Where have you been, Mac? Everyone's Superwoman." One guy said.

"Well, what is she? A hooker or something?"

"Ha! Don't I wish!" Another guy said.

"She's some superhero or something." The bartender said as he gave the large man another beer.

"Superhero? You're joking, right?" he asked as he began to laugh.

"Naw. She's been here for a while now. If anything bad happens, she flies right in and saves the day." The bartender said.

"Really?" the large man asked as his curiosity peaked. "And what exactly brings her out?"

"Just about anything I guess. The other day, she saved a kid that was lost in Metro Park. And she stopped that bank robbery a few weeks back."

"What about that tanker she stopped from sinking?"

"How about that mountain slide?"

"Hey, hold on." the guy said as he chugged half his beer. "You mean at any sign of trouble, and she just shows up?"

"Pretty much, yeah." The bartender said.

"Like shooting fish in a barrel." He said as he pulled a large weapon from underneath his sleeveless leather jacket. At first glance, it looked like a large oddly shaped nail gun. But as he aimed at one wall, the energy discharge blew a hole in the wall the size of a Volkswagen beetle. As the patrons looked and saw what had happened, it became rather clear to them what it was meant for.

* * *

That was what she needed after a day like her. There was nothing like a refreshing hot shower to loosen her up. As Kim dried her hair, she let herself sink into her soft mattress as she let her muscles relax. She didn't need to do that much as her alter ego, but it was one hell of a day for her life as a reporter. She had to go down to the station and make a statement and listen to all the typical stuff. She just hoped they would be able to get a good publisher soon. At least they wouldn't have to put up with Warfield's bull anymore.

Kim tossed the towel on the bed and just flopped backwards on it. She enjoyed the feel of her robe after a shower, and enjoyed the covers that were on the bed. It almost felt like she was laying on a cloud. Of course, she tried that once and fell through it. Of course, that was when she first discovered she could fly. As she debated on taking a nap, a small groan escaped her as she heard the shouts of panicked people in the distance.

Rolling over onto her side, she focused her vision at the open city and soon found what was going on. There were already several police cars there roping off the area and she couldn't see any hostages or ambulances. Maybe the police could handle it. When she saw the energy blast erupt from the side of the building, those hopes were soon dashed.

"No rest for the weary." She said to herself as she grabbed her uniform and flew out the window.

* * *

"Man, how long does it take for her to get here? There isn't anything for me to frag anymore." The man grumbled to himself as he glanced around the room. That's when his eyes widened for one brief moment as he looked at what was left of the jukebox. "WHOA! MASQUITO!" he said as he took aim and fired; completely destroying the jukebox that sat there.

"A little overboard, don't you think?" a very feminine voice asked.

"About time. All right toots, I've got – whoa, momma." The large man said as he saw the woman in front of him. She was a little on the small size, but look at the body on her. The skin tight outfit she had on left very little to his imagination and saw how it hugged every curve on her. Especially the way the material hugged the shape of her legs and her posterior.

Kim got a good look at the man as he leered at her. His hair was almost as black as night, and looked like it seriously needed to be washed as it hung down to his shoulder blades. His skin was pale white, almost like was the color of chalk or a long dead corpse. His eyes were a blood red, with barley a hint of an iris. His face was unshaven and it looked like he had a black mustache tattooed onto his face. He wore a leather jacket with sleeves ripped off and no sign of a shirt underneath. He wore fingerless leather gloves, and what seemed to be some sort of navy blue jeans. There were metal knee pads on his knees in the shapes of skulls, and he wore a very ragged pare of combat boots with titanium toed tips. A very heavy and thick chain was wrapped around his forearm with a thick, heavy, and dirty hook dangling from it.

"Pinch me, I must be dreaming." The man said as he continued to undress her with his eyes.

"Is there a reason you're destroying this bar?"

"Yeah. I'm looking for some broad named Superwoman." He said.

"You've found her."

"You? Damn, that's a shame." He said to himself as he got up and walked to her.

"And why's that?"

"Because I have to do this." He said and bashed her with an uppercut so powerful that it sent her flying through the roof of the bar and into the side of neighboring building.

Superwoman seemed to be embedded into the wall for a moment or two before she slowly fell off and crashed on top of a parked mustang below. She shook her head to shake the glass and dust from her hair as she stood to her feet. When she looked up she saw the bar collapse to its foundation as the large man came walking to her.

"The name's Lobo. That's L as in lacerate, O as in obliterate, B as in disem_bowel_, and O as in – um – I guess I can use obliterate again." He said as he aimed the weapon at her.

Lobo pulled the trigger and fired, causing the street to explode in a giant blast of energy. As the smoke cleared, his eyebrows furrowed when he saw nothing but a scorched crater. Something like that never happened when he used this thing before. The damn thing should have only blown her head off. What gives?

"Sorry to tell you, but your aims sucks."

"What?" Lobo asked and turned, and received a blow to the face than sent him flipping over backwards. "That was low, red." Lobo growled as he stood to his feet.

"What are you doing here in the first place?" Kim asked him as he lumbered toward her again.

"Some bastich is paying me a good chunk of change to bring him your hide. And when the Main Man takes a job, he always delivers." He said as he threw a left hook.

Superwoman ducked under the punch and swept his feet out from under him. Lobo let a small growl escape his lips as she stood over him.

"Very cute, toots. Just one problem." Lobo said.

"What's that?"

With his smirk never leaving his face, Lobo threw the hook and chain around Superwoman's neck, tightening it and holding it firmly in place. As Superwoman tried to break the chain as she found her windpipe closed off, Lobo stood to his feet and began to give the chain some slack. Lobo used her brief moment of distraction to yank the chain back towards him and rammed his fist into Superwoman's face as she flew towards him. As she began to fall backwards, Lobo grasped the chain in both of his hands tightly and began to swing it.

He swung the chain to the right as fast as he could, watching it as he threw Superwoman through two police cruisers and through the side of one buildings. A shower of brick, concrete, glass, and steel went flying in a cloud of dust as Lobo threw Superwoman through the building and slamming her into the next one. With a stronger pull, Lobo threw the heroine over his head and into the street hard before he swung her over his head yet again and drove her into the asphalt like a nail threw wood.

A sick chuckle escaped his throat as he walked toward the heroine as she pulled herself free and shucked the chain off. As she looked back up into the crazed biker's eyes, she saw him lower his gun back towards her again. This guy was beginning to get on her nerves.

"I like to fight dirty." He said as he readied his gun again. "Like I said, red. The Main Man always delivers." He said as the weapon powered up.

As Lobo began squeezing the trigger, he was surprised to see that Superwoman was in front of him in a blur of colors.

"How the?"

"Trade secret." She said as she crushed the barrel of the gun, causing it to spark.

"Ah, crap." Lobo said as he saw his gun spark and begin to whine.

The gun exploded in Lobo's hand with the force of the blast sending both of them flying backwards. Superwoman found herself flying through the lobby of a business building and stopped as she crashed into the base of a sculpture. As she brushed her hair aside, the massive sculpture tipped over and was smashed into pieces as it fell against her head and body. Lobo on the other hand plowed through a Shelby GT 500 before he skidded to a stop and landed on top of a fire hydrant. A frown began to form on his face as he felt water jut out from the hydrant and begin to fall back down onto him.

"Fragger." Lobo growled and stood to his feet. "I just had a shower six months ago!"

"You smell like you need another one." Kim said as she flew out from the building and smashed a right hook to his face, sending him bouncing and skidding backwards like a super ball along the street. He finally stopped as he hit a Dodge Charger face first and flipped over it, landing on his back.

"Damn! I'm either going to marry this broad or kill her." Lobo was saying to himself before he saw the Charger lifted over his head, with Superwoman holding it. Just by the look in her eyes, he knew what was coming next. _"This is how my ex broke up with me." _he thought to himself as he braced his hands against the street, flipped his legs over his head and kicked Superwoman hard in the gut.

She didn't know what had hit her. She only knew it hit her with the force of a shell begin fired from a battleship, sending her flying in an upward ark and through the ground offices of a bank building. She soon smashed out the other side of the large skyscraper and skidded to a halt in the street. As Kim opened her eyes and looked up, she saw Lobo had leapt in a single bound and landed in front of her, causing the concrete and asphalt road to sink inward. Her eyes narrowed as she saw him laugh.

"I've really got to hand it to ya babe, you gave me one hell of a punch. But ain't nothing gonna stop me. Not even if it's a chick." He said as he stomped towards her.

"Chick?" Superwoman growled as she clenched her fists.

Lobo firmly grasped the hook in his hand tightly as he kissed it. With a feral yell, He swiftly brought the hook in the air and brought the hook crashing toward her head. Superwoman brought her forearm above her head, blocking the hook's path with an ear shattering thud. Faster than even Lobo could follow, she smashed her fist hard into his abs. Before he could recover, Kim grasped his head and brought her forehead crashing down onto his. Lobo fell backwards while Superwoman staggered. She didn't expect for his head to be almost as thick as hers was.

As her vision returned to normal, she could see Lobo was starting to regain some of his balance. As strong as he was, she couldn't let him get back on his feet. Taking a running start, Superwoman closed the distance between them within seconds and placed a powerfully swift kick in between his legs and sending him flying high into the air. It looked like she put a little too much as she began to follow him. One thing she was sure of was that kick had to have hurt.

* * *

"Mercy, what's going on down there?" Sherri asked as she saw the reports on television.

"_I'm not sure, Sherri. The whole block's been cornered off, and I can't see where they went." _Mercy replied.

"Well, find out! What am I paying you for? They can't just have disappeared like a fart in the wind!"

_**CRASH!**_

"Lousy rotten, underhanded, fraggen,"

_**BASH!**_

Sherri carefully walked around her desk and looked through the hole that was in her floor. She could see the trajectory perfectly. From the side of her building, through several concrete and titanium lined floors, and out through the roof of her office. And from the looks of that guy, he wasn't any Drakken.

"_Sherri? Sherri, what's wrong?"_

"Never mind, Mercy. Just get back here as soon as you can, and make sure you call a contractor at once." Sherri said and cut the line as she looked out through the hole in her roof, just in time for Superwoman to pass her.

"Sorry, Sherri." She quickly said as she zipped by, going after the large man.

* * *

Superwoman caught up to the man and flew past him, hoping she had aimed this right. She held her hands together tightly as she kept an eye on Lobo. When he was close enough, she raised her hands in the air and brought down an axe handle blow down hard upon Lobo's back. The impact of her strike hit the bounty hunter hard enough for the blow to echo like a thunder clap and increased his speed of decent.

Lobo hit the street hard, causing the ground of the next two blocks to rumble and shake. Lobo looked up, slightly dazed, as he continued to move his head around in a circle. He turned his head as far as he could to the left before he jerked it to the right with a loud pop sounding like a gunshot.

"Okay. Now I'm angry." He growled as he got to his feet. He saw a tool box had fallen off a truck not too far from him, and one of the tools that had spilled out was a large thick crowbar. With a small laugh, Lobo grasped the crowbar and stood up. He looked up and saw Superwoman coming straight at him like a patriot missile. "Get ready to pucker, sucker." He said as he hid the crowbar behind his back.

Everything almost seemed to slow down as Superwoman readied another punch and Lobo grasped the crowbar tight enough for him to leave his finger impressions into the metal. Inches apart, Kim brought down her blow as Lobo swung the crowbar around to strike. Both hit each other at the same time as the shockwave of their blows shattered the windows around them, almost freezing the two in that moment of time. Kim's blow sent Lobo through the street and into the subway below the streets of Metropolis, bringing down part of a tunnel wall. The strike Lobo had used sent Superwoman spiraling into the twenty-second floor of an office building, taking out a conference table and several cubicles as she tumbled to a halt.

Lobo was groaning loudly as he tried to right himself, feeling like he was suffering from the mother of all hangovers. He grasped part of the wall and hauled himself forward while he pressed a hand against his head in an attempt to keep it from spinning. As he sat there, he felt something under his tongue; near the back of his mouth. He fished it out from under his tongue, and noticed the smooth texture of it. He spit the strange object into his mouth and looked at it closely. He soon realized it was one of his molars.

"Damn. I thought I knocked that one out in that fight with Emperor Spooge." He said to himself.

Slowly, he stood to his feet and pressed his hands against his back as he stood upright. The rows of cracks and pops made it sound like he was splintering bone, not popping them. He looked up and noticed the group of people that were talking and gawking at him.

"What are you geek wads looking at?" he asked them. When he heard a loud horn blaring, he quickly turned to his right to see what it was. That's when he saw a bright white light getting bigger and bigger. "I could have sworn I was going to the other place when I croaked." Lobo said to himself.

Feeling like he just took dead man's curve at Mach four, he found himself yanked out of the path of the light and thrown onto the cold tiled floor as he saw a train slow to a stop. What just happened? How'd he get here? That's when he noticed the red boots off to his side, as well as the end of a bright red cape. It was her! The super broad. She had a few smudges here and there, and her hair was a mess. Her cape was also ripped and had a few holes, but she looked like she was still looking pretty good. He needed a breather for a minute anyway, but she looked like she wasn't even breaking out in a sweat.

"Am I loosing it, or did you just save me?" he asked her as he stood to his feet.

"What do you think?" she asked him.

This was weird. He's been doing his best to take her out, and she does this? This was against his principles – what principles? He didn't have any.

"Why'd you save me?" he asked her.

"All life's worth saving. Even someone like you." She said to him.

"Whoa. Lady, I am impressed. And it takes a lot to impress the Main Man." He said to her.

"Does this mean you'll stop trying to kill me?" she asked him.

"Hell no! What do you think I am? Some wimp?" he said and threw another punch.

Superwoman easily caught his fist in one hand and began to crush it while she quickly reached out and grabbed his crotch. As she began to make both of her grips tighter, she could swear his white face was beginning to become as red as his eyes that were starting to bulge.

"What do you think you're doing?" he groaned.

"Fighting dirty." She growled and began to pull.

"You wouldn't!" he said and yelled as she began to squeeze even tighter.

She knew something had to be turning purple by now. Judging by the way he was shaking, and his accelerated breathing, one of two things were happening right now. The first and most likely thing was that he was in great pain and she was about to break something he valued. Or the guy was about to pop his cork. She just hopped it wasn't the second one.

"How about I make you a deal, Lobo?" she asked and saw him vigorously shake his head yes. "You stop trying to kill me, and I'll leave your little friend here in tact."

"What if I say dream on?" he asked before she felt her began to try and pull something off of him.

"If you don't, I'll rip these off and shove them so far down your throat that I'll have to take off your boots to ring your neck." She growled.

"Are you hitting on me?" he asked with a grin, but shouted when she not only began to squeeze harder, but also began to twist.

"I'm not kidding Lobo."

"ALL RIGHT! YOU HAVE MY WORD!" he said.

"How can I be sure?" she growled.

"The Main Man's word is his bond." He said to her.

"Okay." She said and let go, wiping her hand on her cape as she did so.

"You are one mean fraggin bastich. You tried to kill me, sent me flying across your rat ass town like a piñata, tried to bury me, and you fought really below the belt. And then you tried to remove my little buddy?!" he demanded as he glared at her. "Want to go out sometime?" he asked her.

"What?" she growled.

"I'll take that as a no." he said and gave her a left hook, knocking her threw a wall.

Like a bullet out of a gun, Superwoman flew out from the wall, kicked one of Lobo's knees hard enough to break it. She then grabbed him by the throat tightly, and flew upward through the street where she dangled him by his foot forty stories up.

"What was that for?" she demanded.

"That was for grabbing me by the brass ones. Now we're even." He told her.

"You mean it?" she asked him.

"Sure." He said to her. "Um, you think you can let me down now?"

"Maybe."

That's when she let him go and let him topple to the street below. The entire way down, Lobo saw part of his life flash before his eyes. He hated it when this happened. He saw the asphalt quickly zooming in, and wondered how much it was going to hurt. When his nose was an inch and a half from touching the asphalt, he noticed everything stopped. He looked down/up and saw that the Super broad was holding him upside down by the ankle.

"YOU ARE ONE SADISTIC WOMAN! You sure we aren't related?" he asked her, and was answered by her letting go and his head hitting the road. "I take it you don't want me here anymore."

"Let's just say that I won't be shedding any tears once you leave." She said to him.

"That was cold, babe. The only time I got that cold a shoulder was when the girl found out I didn't use a condom." He said as he stood up and whistled. Almost a minute later, what almost looked like a motorcycle with a turbine engine arrived and parked itself in front of Lobo. "You might want to be on the look out, red." He said to her as he climbed on.

"Why's that?"

"Because someone wants you out of the way. But if I can't take you down, I don't think anyone can. But seriously, are you seeing anyone?" he asked her. When a wave of intense heat fried away half of his unshaven whiskers and part of his hair line, a smile began to cross his face. "I'll take that as a maybe." He said as he started the bike and rode off into the sky.

"I think I'm going to have to stick my hand in molten lava to get my hand clean." Kim said to herself when she remembered where she had grabbed him earlier and shuddered before she flew home.

* * *

So Lobo had failed. Impressive. He had underestimated how powerful Kara Jor-El really was. He was glad he had tapped into the satellites of this primitive world to keep an eye on them. He had miscalculated everything about Kara. As he began to go over the readings from the fight and process all the data about the effects of yellow solar radiation on a Kryptonian, the living machine came to a startling surprise. He didn't know how it was possible, but it appeared that Kara had been holding back when she used her abilities. Incredible. If she used their abilities to their full extent, she would almost be a god on this world. Could she been strong enough to take on – he was begin contacted? By who? Wanting to solve this mystery, he quickly opened a link.

"_What news?"_ the wraith like voice demanded.

"Zod? How,"

"_You'd be surprised at some of my discoveries in the Phantom Zone. Now, REPORT!"_

"Yes, my lord. The Zarnian failed at his mission. It would appear that her powers surpass what I had gathered."

"_Explain."_

"Sir, the daughter of Jor-El was able to defeat the Zarnian using only a fraction of her abilities. It would seem that her body is operating as a capacitor."

"_Meaning?"_

"Which means that once you and your lieutenants have been exposed to a certain amount of this star's solar radiation, you will be Gods among insects." Brainiac said to him. If Brainiac were completely human, he would feel a could chill flowing down his spine from his master's laugh.

"_Excellent Brainiac. With this knowledge in mind, we can begin proceed. How long until I am free?"_

"Unknown, General. This fortress is equipped almost every bit of Kryptonian technology, but it doesn't have the necessary components open a door to the Phantom Zone."

"_DAMN JOR-EL TO HELL!" _Zod screamed.

"However, my lord, the technology on this world may help. Their technology is still very primitive, but most of it can be adapted to our needs."

"_The sooner you start, the better. And Brainiac?"_

"Yes, my lord?" he asked before his systems began to short. A massive bolt of energy coursed through his new body, causing him to feel the horrible sensation of what the organics called pain. When the energy feedback finally stopped, Brainiac collapsed into a heap.

"_I said to gauge the woman's abilities, not to kill her! I you ever disobey me again, you shall feel more pain than any Kryptonian could ever endure!"_ Zod shouted before the link shut down.

As Brainiac began doing a diagnostic, he couldn't help but be puzzled. How did Zod know of his actions? How was he able to open a link? He began to systematically go over all the possibilities in his mind. All of them began to be eliminated one by one, until it came to the most highly unlikely conclusion. Somehow, Zod had access to technology in the Phantom Zone. But how? How could there technology be in the Phantom Zone? It was supposed to be void of anything like that. So how?

* * *

She couldn't sleep. Now matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop her head from thinking about her recent discoveries. What was she going to do now? How was she going to react when she saw Kim again? She had to snap out of it, she knew better than this. Kim was her friend. It wasn't like Kim could have controlled those rocks. So why was this bugging the hell out of her so much. She carefully slipped out of the bed, so she wouldn't disturb her sleeping assistant. She threw on her black silk robe, not bothering to close it.

She walked over to her desk and activated her computer. Maybe a little web surfing would help her go to sleep. She began looking through the e-mail she had in her mailbox and groaned. So far, it was mostly junk mail or something she could care less about. As she began deleting the lat bits of e-mail, she found something weird. The address said it was from a terminal inside the building, but from who? In the subject line, it simply said "Follow the White Rabbit."

Curious, she opened the e-mail and found an internet link. She wasn't worried about computer viruses since her company had anti-virus programs that would make computer nerds have an orgasm just by looking at the code. She clicked the link which immediately a two way video link. The background was an advanced lab of some sort. Was that one of her labs? After a moment or two, a woman a few years younger than her stepped into frame. With the exception of her ivory white hair and pierced nose, she could pass off as Angelina Jolie's twin sister.

"I was hoping you'd get this, Miss Gough." The woman said with a smile until she noticed Sherri's state of dress. "Did I interrupt something?"

"There better be a good reason why I shouldn't call security on you." Sherri said to the woman.

"No need to be rude. My name is Dr. Angora Lapin." The woman said.

"Lapin? You're Dr. Iron's assistant." Sherri said, recognizing the name.

"Yes, I am. I was going over the plans for your little project with Stoppable Inc. and I found something you may like." Dr. Lapin said as a weapons design began to replace her video image.

"What is it?" Sherri said as she examined the plans.

"This is one of Henry's side projects. It's called a BG-60. It's a hand held energy cannon with enough force to blow a person in half. In theory, anyway."

"Simply amazing. I didn't know he designed weapons." Sherri said as she studied the blue prints. "But why tell me about it?"

"With all the military contracts you have, I figured some of these big boys might be interested in something like this. And maybe we could split the profits." The young Dr. said.

"I should have known." Sherri said as the plans disappeared while the feed of Dr. Lapin appeared.

"So, what do you think? Are we in business, or do I go to someone like AmerTek?" she asked her boss.

"I think something can be arranged." Sherri said with a smile.

* * *

Next time in

INVINCIBLE

_The feats of Superwoman begin to come to the attention of a lost civilization._

"These stories we've been hearing can't be true." The woman said as she addressed her queen.

"But we can not ignore them." The queen said as she began to think. "We may have to send one of our won to investigate."

"Into Man's World? Who would even want to venture to their shores?"

"I will." The young woman said as she stepped forward.

_And the will of Zod begins to take shape._

"You managed to breach my security, and get passed my bodyguard. Give me a reason why I shouldn't put a bullet in your head right now." Sherri said as her hand began to reach for the pistol that was under her desk.

"Because I have access to technology you may want." The man said as three glowing circles, forming a triangle, began to appear on his forehead.

_Two living legends will meet as a storm begins to form on the horizon._

Chapter 11:

CHAMPION OF THEMYSCIRA


	11. Champion of Themyscira

I'm back everyone! Sorry this chapter took so long. I had to do some studying on Wonder Woman in order to try and get this thing written. I started having flashbacks of High School! But I hope I wrote a decent chapter. So, please enjoy.

* * *

INVINCIBLE

By FAH3

"Thanks for coming along, KP." Ron said as he and Kim exited the limo and entered Gough Tower.

"It's nothing. You and Sherri have been working hard on this project, Also, Perry's got me covering it." Kim said.

"Was that your idea, or is it because we're an item?"

"I think it's a little of both. And you finally admitted we're dating?" Kim asked him.

"I thought we were. Am I wrong?"

"Well, you haven't acknowledged we've been dating since the last time you were in town, and you haven't even given me an anniversary gift."

"Anniversary? Kim, we broke up when you left." Ron said.

"The way I see it, we never broke up."

"Now wait a minute. You left to go to the North Pole and wouldn't let me come with you no matter how much I begged. Then after you left, you didn't come back for seven years." Ron said to her.

"But did I ever say that we were breaking up?" she asked him with a smirk and proceeded to the elevators.

"I swear I will never understand women. Even ones from another planet." Ron said to himself as he followed Kim.4

"I'm glad you made it, Ronald. You had me worried that you weren't going to be here." Sherri said as she greeted her business partner as he walked off the elevator.

"Sorry about that. I had a few loose ends I needed to – tie up." Ron said as he remembered the little run in he had with the men that worked for Boss Maroni back in Gotham City.

"Kimmie? This is a surprise." Sherri said as she shook the young woman's hand.

"I was assigned to the story. But I guess any reason's a good reason to see a friend again." Kim said to her as she noticed that Sherri's handshake was a little tighter and firmer than usual.

"Well, let's get this demonstration on the road. Kim, these are the two scientists that are in charge of the project." Sherri said as she lead them into a large lab with a monitored testing area that was the size of a basketball court.

In the center of the room, wearing an elaborate hi-tech battle suit, was a tall African American man. Kim didn't know if it was because of the suit, but he was almost seven feet tall and was almost as broad as an F-150. He was holding a visor helmet in his hands as he turned and smiled at them as they walked closer. His head was shaved with a small gold earring in his left ear. At the control panels behind him was a tall, and very beautiful, woman with tan skinned, full pouty lips, and long white hair.

"Ron, I believe you two have already met." Sherri said as they walked to the black man.

"Yes, we have. It's good to see you again Dr. Irons."

"It's good to see you too, Mr. Stoppable." He replied with a voice that was almost deeper than Morgan Freedman's. "Who's this young lady?" he asked as he noticed the young redhead that was wearing a pair of wire framed glasses.

"Dr. Irons, this is my girlfriend Kim Possible." Ron introduced.

"It's a pleasure, ma'am." Dr. Irons said as he gently held Kim's hand and kissed the top of it.

"Than you." Kim said as she felt her cheeks become a little flushed. "I also work for the Daily Planet. I'll be covering today's experiment."

"Then you should be in for a treat." Dr. Irons said as he put the helmet over his head. "The lady operating the controls is Dr. Angora Lapin. She's been assisting me with this project since square one."

"We aren't going to be doing that much today since we haven't ironed out all the bugs in it. So we'll be going through only a few basic functions." Dr. Lapin said to the group as she operated the controls.

"Then I think we should give them some space. I hope you enjoy the show." Sherri said as they walked to another part of the lab that had what looked to be a VIP booth that you would see in movie theaters. As they entered, Sherri saw someone in her seat that made her frown. "How the hell did you get in here?"

"Please, Sherri. You know that I have an investment in this as much as you do." The bald man said with a smug grin.

"Who's that?" Kim whispered to Ron as they took their seats.

"That's Lex Luthor, Sherri's ex-husband." Ron said.

"Ex-husband?" Kim asked, surprised she was just now hearing this.

"Yeah. His company was almost as big as hers a few years back. When they called it quits, she got over half of it in the settlement. He's been trying to build it back up ever since." Ron whispered to her.

"It's nice to see you too, Stoppable. And my company has expanded since then." Luthor said as he made himself stay focused on the test area in front of them.

"Hi, Lex. I hope your shoulder's still not sore from our racket ball game." Ron said and grinned when he mumbled something in response. Ron didn't care from him because he knew Luthor had his hand in a few shady business deals. Except Luthor covered his tracks too well, and he could never get enough evidence to bust him.

"Enough of the nice chit chat. What investment do you have in this project?" Sherri asked him.

"Where do you think Irons got half of the technology in his suit? He was a Lex Corp employee before you stole him. Just like my company." He said to himself.

"Then you just keep your ass in that chair, Luthor." Sherri said as she took her seat.

"We're not on a first name basis anymore?" Lex asked slyly.

"Screw you."

"You already did." Lex said with a smile as Sherri's blood began to boil.

"Miss Gough and Mr. Stoppable? We're ready." Dr. Irons said as he placed the helmet on his head.

"The light's green, Doctor." Sherri said. A smile began to cross her face as Irons powered the suit and watched the rocket boosters work perfectly as they sent Dr. Irons into the air.

* * *

This so-called computer was almost too simple for him to access. The children on Krypton played with machines like this when they were infants. Gaining access to all the system he wanted was almost as easy as reading binary. Soon, he had hacked into the security cameras inside the Gough building and could see what was happening inside. He could see the testing of their latest product had already started, he had arrived too late. He had under estimated the traffic in this city. No matter, he still had time.

Working faster than any of the humans could notice, he quickly hacked into the computer systems that were monitoring the suit. He could easily see that the suit's functions were mostly controlled through a neural interface, but not all of them. Most of their primary functions were being routed through these computers. Well, he would just have to fix that.

* * *

So far, everything was operating better than he expected. It looked like the boosters were running a tad bit hotter than he expected, but that could be easily fixed. But it looked like the neural interface was working like a charm.

"You're looking good, John. Should we try the weapons?" Dr. Lapin asked.

"Not today. Let's give the NAV system a run through as well as the,"

John was cut off when he felt a sharp shock to the back of his neck. As he felt a slight prickly sensation form where the shock had been, his brain began going through the blue prints that were in his head. Already he knew what was wrong.

"ANGORA! SHUT OFF THE POWER! KILL THE SUIT!" John shouted as he felt a larger shot hit the back of his neck. Within seconds, the shock felt like it was trying to go through his whole nervous system.

"What's happening? What's going on?" Sherri demanded as they noticed it looked like Dr. Irons was having a seizure while hovering.

"It's neural feedback! One of the processors must have shut down!" Dr. Lapin said as she saw the readings.

"SHUT IT DOWN!" Luthor shouted.

"I CAN'T!" she shouted a she kept trying to activate the emergency shut down.

Lowering her glasses slightly, Kim focused her vision, searching the lab until she found one of the man circuit junctions. It was close t the control station, and hopped it was the main one. Her eyes slightly changed color as the air began to slightly distort. Soon, the covering to the circuit junction began to heat and smoke slightly. With a massive shower of sparks, the junction shorted out and all power to the lab cut out. Dr. Irons landed to the floor with a loud echoing thud as they all rushed to him, hoping he wasn't hurt. When the emergency lights came to life, he was yanking off the helmet and the chest plate of the suit as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"What happened?" Ron asked as they got to him while Shego checked the back of his neck.

"O-one of the neural relays shut down. I-it caused a feedback pulse." Irons said as he slowly started taking deep breaths.

"But something happened to the power grid." Luthor said as he noticed the smoking junction box.

"The system didn't know how to compensate. It must have caused a power surge." Angora said as she checked the damage.

"Are you okay, John?" Ron asked as he and Shego helped him up.

"I've got a light headache, but I'll think I'll live." He said as he started to regain his footing.

"Are the phones still working?" Sherri asked Dr. Lapin.

"I believe so."

"Then get an ambulance here on the double! I want to make sure Dr. Irons is still all right." Sherri said as they began to help him out of the lab.

* * *

"That was a big risk you took, Kim." Ron said as they stepped out of the Gough building and into the fresh air.

"I had to do it, Ron. You know that." Kim said to him.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't have. Just try and be more discreet." Ron said as he put his sunglasses on. "That was a little strange." Ron said, trying to change the subject.

"What was?"

"Being in a lab with Shego without her trying to fry us or Drakken whimpering like a little kid." Ron said.

"I know what," Kim stopped in mid-sentence when she realized what her boyfriend had just said to her. "You know?" Kim whispered.

"I did more than just study how to fight over the past seven years, KP." Ron said with a smile. When he saw the look on Kim's face, the grin only spread.

"Speaking of labs and Shego; remember when we switched brains?"

"That was unique. If I recall, your mom said that when you had to pee, you missed." Ron said as Kim began to grow red.

"I swore her to secrecy." Kim mumbled. "At least I didn't wind up in the middle of the Pacific Ocean when my mom called me down to dinner."

"That was the one time." Ron said as his limo came to a stop in front of him.

"One time? What about when you sneezed and blew my neighbor's car into the next county? Or ripped the door off the boy's room? Then the girl's room?" Kim asked as they both climbed into the limo.

"I get the point!" Ron said as the limo drove away.

As the black vehicle pulled away, the lone figure near the building's entrance stood and watched it leave. It was almost like he could see something that the others couldn't. He kept looking until the limo turned the corner and was out of sight.

"Kara Jor-El." He said as three glowing circles briefly began to glow on his forehead and quickly faded from sight.

* * *

Saying that Sherri was upset would be a small understatement. She was so angry at the moment that her body was emitting a small enough glow to begin melting her makeup, exposing small blotches of her pale green skin. She had just stepped out of the elevator of the top floor with Mercy trailing behind her when noticed.

"This crap isn't working! Hasn't Happerson perfected that pill yet?" she asked.

"There have been delays. Because you used Dr. Bortel's pills for so long, your body has built up an immunity. Not to mention the radiation you're giving off doesn't help." Mercy said.

"Perfect." Sherri said sarcastically. "I want everything in that lab gone over with a fine tooth comb. I want to know what went wrong, and I want to know NOW!" she shouted as she approached the doors to her office.

"What about your meeting with,"

"RESCHEDULE EVERYTHING! I WANT TO BE LEFT ALONE!" she said as she barged into her office and slammed the doors closed behind her.

"An interesting emotional response. I had thought the rumors of your anger may have been exaggerated."

Sherri turned to see a man looking at her liquor cabinet like he was studying them. He wore an unimpressive suit jacket with a blue shirt, and a pair tan slacks that looked like they had seen better days. His hair had been slicked back and held in place by what looked like the stuff greasers used back in the fifties.

"How did you get in here?" she asked the man as he turned to face her.

"My own little secret I'm afraid." He said to her.

"Then you have five seconds before I call security and have them throw you out the window." She said as she walked to the desk and had the speaker phone activated.

"To put it simply, I'm here to make you a remarkable business offer." He said as he sat in a chair.

"I've heard that before. And your time is up." Sherri said as she turned her back on him and started to dial security.

"Have you found her starship yet?" he asked her, causing her to stop dialing.

"What ship?" she asked, knowing better than to try and reveal anything.

"The starship that belongs to Kara Jor-El. But I guess you would know her by her other name. Superwoman?" he asked her. He smiled as she deactivated the speaker phone and slowly turned toward him. Her face was neutral, showing no sign of emotion at all. This just seemed to please the man. "I know you've been searching for it for a while now. In fact, I believe you even have a small reckon team looking for it. You still haven't found it, have you?" he asked her.

"You know, I can have you arrested for hacking into my company's database. Including breaking into my office. You still haven't given me any reason to not have you thrown out." She said.

"My dear, I can offer you what you've been looking for."

"Which is?"

"Please, don't treat me like an idiot. Your company has been looking for an edge to beat out all of your competition. To show your superiority against others so they do not prey on you like you have with others." He said to her.

"You like hearing yourself talk, don't you windbag?"

"Miss Gough, I'm here to give you the edge you've been looking for." He said as the three circles on his forehead began to glow, making their presence known.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked him as she saw the three spheres glowing, making a triangle pattern.

"The question isn't who, Miss Gough. It's what. You see, Kara wasn't the only survivor of Krypton's destruction." The man said.

"You're a Kryptonian?"

"No. I was the AI program that was put in charge of Krypton. I maintained their power plants, their factories and cities. I kept an eye on the weather, and warning those that were in danger. I recorded history and data from before I was self aware to now. In a sense, I _am_ Krypton. A living monument to their technological genius. My name is Brainiac." He said with a smug grin, causing Sherri to think outside the box of what she considered normal and possible.

"You're a machine?" she asked him.

"That's a crude term. But in a sense, yes I am." He answered.

"But your skin, your whole appearance looks so,"

"It is real, Miss Gough. This is a fully functioning human body. Only certain organs are replaced by the hardware that allows me to function. I'm more of what is known as a Cyborg." He said to her.

"Incredible." She said as she looked over him. It was impossible. The only thing she saw close to what was in front her was what she saw in the Terminator movies. It was unreal to see a combination of biological and mechanical in front of her,

"This is a small sample of what I can offer you Miss Gough." He said to her, deciding to get down to business.

"That's right. You said you had a deal to offer?" she asked him.

"You have been looking for the vessel that brought Kara Jor-El to your world. You don't have to anymore. Only a small sliver of data from my memory banks will make your DVD's and Hydrogen fueled cars look like prehistoric toys." He said, smiling like a Cheshire cat.

"One problem. I know for a fact that when something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. What do you get out of this little trade?" she asked him.

"Very acute, Miss Gough. Despite what Kara has been taught to believe, she isn't the only survivor of Krypton. My vessel was plotting a course to a colony world that the survivors could establish as New Krypton. However, my navigational array was damaged during my flight, and I drifted off course. I had been drifting for years when my sensors found a single Kryptonian life sign. So I followed it here."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"I'm getting to that. When my vessel landed, it sustained further damage. Even if I could repair it, I don't have the ability or equipment to contact New Krypton. Even though your technology is primitive, it has evolved to a degree that it will amplify my communications array and make contact." He said to her.

"Interesting story." Sherri said to him as she sat behind her desk and thought about what she had been told. "Why should I believe any of that?" she asked him.

"Because without me, New Krypton will loose any information of their history, and any knowledge I hold of advancing the colony. Also, as a sign of good faith." He said as his eyes began to glow as he looked at her laptop.

Within seconds, data and diagrams began to flash across the screen at a record pace. Sherri tried to follow it, but it was downloading too quickly for her to follow. When it finally stopped, a file opened that showed a diagram of what seemed to be a human. On it was detailed notes and diagrams of components she had never seen before. As she glanced the data over, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Cybernetics? Artificial organs and limbs? This is – this tells how to join circuits and sensors to living tissue without damaging the organic material." She said as she looked at the data with wide eyes.

"So, do we have an agreement?" he asked her.

"Show me your shopping list, and I'll tell you where to find it." She said as she kept reading over the notes.

"Excellent. Also, maybe one more thing." Brainiac said.

"Which is?"

"Kara's father was a highly respected figure in our society. When I make contact, I'm sure that they will want to know that his daughter is alive and well. If you could, I would like all information you can get on Kara Jor-El. I don't just mean her glamorous life as a hero, but everything else." Brainiac said to her.

"I think that can be arranged." Sherri said with a grin.

* * *

He didn't care what the law was or who said it was wrong or unhealthy. To him, nothing was as good as a fine cut Cuban cigar. As he let a small plume of smoke escape his lips, he glanced at the small television that sat on his desk. He had been watching a marathon of the old Dukes of Hazzard television show when the news interrupted the broadcast. As he scratched the fleas out of his thick untrimmed beard, he noticed where the reporter was. She was standing outside the school that was a few miles down the road from his gun shop. The school contained grades kindergarten through eighth grade. With his curiosity peaked, he reached over and turned up the volume to see what was happening.

"_I'm standing outside the Johnson Elementary, forty miles from Metropolis. We've learned that almost an hour ago, two armed students entered the building and began opening fire on various students and staff. As of this moment, we're unsure of their demands if they have any. Police are on stand by in case worst comes to worst."_ The reporter said before a red and blue blur sped past them and shot through the school's locked front doors.

After a few, almost agonizing minutes, there were the sounds of _screams coming from the school, followed by the sounds of gunfire._

"_Several shots have been fired! Police are fixing to fire tear gas and take the school by – force?"_ the reporter asked as several guns and pipe bombs were thrown out of the windows. A few of the guns looked like they had been crushed while the rest had the barrels melted and still glowing red. The pipe bombs all had the fuses pulled and broken in half, spilling their contents onto the concrete and grass.

A moment later, two young men were flung through a window on the ground floor and landed in the dirt. Both had thick copper pipes wrapped around them, binding their arms close to their bodies. One young man had his head shaved while the other had several cuts and bruises all over his arms. In a matter of minutes, the police were swarming over them like flies to rotten garbage. As the police were hauling the struggling young men away, a very angry Superwoman exited the school.

"_Superwoman, was anyone shot?"_ the reporter asked as she rushed to the super hero, but received no answer. _"Do you at least know why they did this?"_

"_HOLD IT!"_ the police captain said and marched to the young redheaded woman. _"You're wanted for questioning! I don't care if you can fly or not, no one has the right to take the law into their own hands!_" the older man shouted to her face.

She didn't move, she didn't make a face or anything. But she still looked severely pissed off. She turned to the police officer with a look that could melt titanium and watched him partially blanch. _"If you want some answers, then follow me."_ She said and took the air.

"I wonder what crawled up her skirt." The man said to himself as part of the ceiling crashed down upon him. As he looked up, he saw the face of Superwoman starring at him as her eyes were glowing a flame colored orange.

"You demented, backwoods, hick!" she growled as she grabbed him by his shirt color and lifted him out of his seat. "You sold those guns to those kids." She growled.

"I don' know what yer talkin' about." He said to her.

"Don't play dumb with me. They told me everything, and you knew what they were going to do." She growled.

"You can't prove it, carrot crotch. Blood be thicker then water in ma family. Besides, that school was filled with nothing but a bunch of dirty wetbacks and n-"

Before he could say anything else, Superwoman threw him against the wall of his office. She couldn't stand listening to such idiotic stupidity and bull like he was spitting out. All it did was make her even more enraged.

"You've never had to be on the other end of one of these, have you?" she asked him as she saw his gun case and a few fully loaded clips at the bottom of it. She carefully pulled out the 9mm. "A little girl was looking down the barrel of one of these today. The only thing she knew was that the person holding it hated her because of her skin, and he thought she deserved to die because of that. She had to face death today, and she'll _never_ forget that." She said as she slid an ammo clip into the gun and cocked a bullet into the chamber as she turned and face the man. "She was nine." Superwoman said as she raised the gun, aimed, and fired.

The man was screaming his lungs out as she fired at him. Everything began to flash through his mind at once. Growing up in Georgia, his family moving up here, girlfriends, family, his whole life in a matter of seconds as the bullet sped its way toward him and heading straight for his head. Almost as soon as the gun had been fired, he saw the woman's hand in front of his face, and the still hot bullet in between her fingers. He was still breathing so fast that it felt like he was inhaling ice, and he could feel a warmth spreading throughout the front of his pants and weighing them down in the back.

"Now neither will you." She said as she dropped the bullet, and wrapped several assault rifles around him. After burning out the firing pins in the rest of the guns in his gun case, she hung him on a near by gun rack by his underwear. When she heard the police cars pull up to the front of the gun store, she quickly flew out the hole she had made in the ceiling and began flying away.

* * *

As she was flying past the various towns, homes, and road ways that were below her, her mind was dwelling on what had just happened. She was kicking herself for pulling that stunt with the gun since there was honestly a good chance she might not have caught of that. There had been two other times where she had tried to catch bullets that were being fired at her while she was flying, and she had missed. So it was stupid of her to pull that. But she was also regretting not beating the living piss out of that – she couldn't even think of a good term for him. After what she saw those two teenagers do to that school, her anger was almost boundless. She was almost at the boiling point with her temper. As she continued to fly, she began to hear a very high pitched ringing until it cleared for a voice to echo in her ears.

"_KP, are you all right?"_ Ron asked her in his bat voice.

"I'm fine. Isn't there some crook you should be scaring?"

"_Wade just told me about the school. Are you all right?" _he asked her, knowing how his best friend better than most people.

"Ron, I'm fine. Okay? Now just drop it!"

"_Kim,"_

"Superwoman out." She said and tuned Ron out. She had learned long ago how to use her hearing to a fine degree. There could be a fog horn going off next to her ear, and she could tune it out completely. But this wasn't good news for Ron.

"Something happened." Batman said as he sat at the giant computer that was in the back of the large subterranean cavern beneath his home in Gotham City. He was in full uniform with his cowl hiding his face completely as he sat and began to think.

"You're sure?" the man in the background asked him.

"I've known her for most of my life. Something happened back there that's too much for her. When her father died, she bottled her feelings for weeks. Knowing her, she's doing the same thing now." He said.

"The maybe you should go talk to her. She trusts you the most."

"I wish I could, but I have too much to do here." Batman said.

"You mean with the case we were working on?"

"Yes. I'm sure Dr. Jonathan Crane is behind these attacks, I just need to find more proof. Maybe you should talk to her."

"Are you sure that's a wise decision?"

"You two have more in common. You can relate to her more than I ever could." Ron said. He hated to admit that part, but it was the truth. All his life, he tried to understand Kim and help relate to her problems. But with that aspect of her life, an orphan and from another world, he just couldn't even imagine.

"I'll go talk to her, but you have more in common with her than you realize." The figure said and began to walk away.

"Just one more thing." Batman said, making the man stop. "With the most of these criminals, all I need is a batarang or my fists. All I need is a ten cent book of matches with you." Ron said to him without even turning in his seat. He didn't need to look to know when the man left, he could tell just by listening.

He wanted to talk to Kim, he knew he should. Who was he kidding? His mind was practically screaming at him to be there for her. But he had to finish this. All these attacks with the victims living out their worst fears were a serious threat. He knew that the lives of the citizens of Gotham City were more important right now. He just hoped she would understand.

* * *

As she flew higher into the air, she kept her ears open for any signs of trouble. She needed to keep her head on the here and now. The one thing she didn't want to do was think. She knew if she began to think, then she would – SHUT UP BRAIN! She didn't want to think about that at all!

Superwoman was flying over Metropolis and tried her best to listen for trouble, but she just couldn't. Images kept flashing in her mind. Images of that school, guns firing, and so many other things she didn't want to see. If she didn't know any better, she could swear someone was flashing various images in front of her eyes. Wanting so desperately to get rid of the images, she closed her eyes as hard as she could. The tighter she squeezed her eyes closed, the more images from the school would flash through her mind. She couldn't stand it!

When she opened her eyes again, she saw herself on a collision course with one of the tall office buildings in uptown. She was already too close to try and turn away, so there was only one thing left to do. As fast as she could, she quickly veered upward until she was flying higher into sky with the wake of her flight path shattering the windows of the skyscraper. Now matter how high she flew or how fast, she couldn't get the images out of her head. They kept flashing in front of her over and over again. She couldn't take it.

She stopped once she flew into the heart of a large cloud that had been passing, gripping her head tightly as she tried to force the images and fresh memories from her mind. Her jaw was clenched tight, grinding her teeth together as she felt her nails dig into her scalp. Why wouldn't they go away?

"_Kimberly?"_ a voice echoed into her head. She knew it was J'onn trying to talk to her, but she didn't want to hear it. Not right now. She didn't want to talk to anyone. _"Kimberly, are all right?"_

"**LEAVE ME ALONE!"** she screamed as loud as she could, echoing for miles around.

Wanting to get away from everything, she flew as fast as she could away from Metropolis with a sonic boom echoing over the city. She could feel the cold air biting into her skin as the tears that fell were quickly blown away. Wanting to keep hidden from everyone, she kept flying through every cloudbank she could find. Her mind was flooded with nothing but her feelings of guilt and depression. She wanted it all to go away. There was only place she could rest and clear her head, and that was the Fortress.

But she wouldn't make it to the fortress. As she sped into another cloud bank, she didn't pay attention to her surroundings. Soon, she found herself flying into the middle of a large hurricane. She found the winds pushing hard against her, trying to change her flight path. Thunder echoed like several bombs exploding all around her as the rain fell in cold sheets. There was so much rain coming down that she couldn't see anything in front of her. As she tried to swerve through the clouds, a large bolt of lightning began to crawl through the clouds as if they were a love wire and struck Kim with its full force.

Kim was invulnerable to a point, but even she had her limits. She felt the bolt of energy coursing through her body, almost freezing her mind completely. For the first time in a while, she felt almost like she was being torn apart. When the lightning stopped, she felt herself begin to fall out of the sky. Everything was growing dim as she felt everything pass by her, and son saw the underside of the storm clouds growing smaller and smaller until she finally passed out.

* * *

What ever was being shinned in her face, it was bright. Even though her eyes were closed, she still had to squint her eyelids hard to try and stop it from bothering her. Raising her hand to shield her face, she opened her eyes and let them adjust to the bright light. She was amazed to discover she was in a large room of beautifully crafter stone and marble. The light that was shinning in her face was the light of the morning sun coming through the large window. Beneath her was one of the softest beds she had ever slept on with what felt like a satin sheet draped across her. One thing was for sure; she wasn't in Metropolis anymore. Her whole body felt slightly heavy as she raised herself up and propped herself on her elbow while gently rubbing her forehead.

"We aren't sure if you were injured in your fall. Even though you have no visible injuries, I am sure of is that you might have a headache for a day or two." A woman spoke to her. "How do you feel?"

She glanced to her left and saw a woman that seemed to be as tall as Shego, with long flowing black hair that stopped at the small of her back. Her body would make supermodels jealous, but still showed she was very athletic. You don't get muscles like that from sitting around all day. A white dress, almost like a fashionable toga, hung from her body as she looked at Kim with a pair of sapphire blue eyes. "I've felt worse. Who are you? And out of curiosity, where am I?" Kim asked her as she closed her eyes against the glare of the sun again

"I am Diana, and you are on the island of Themyscira." The woman said to her.

"I've never heard of it." Kim said as she raised herself into a sitting position and noticed her immediate state of dress. With a small gasp, she quickly grabbed the sheet and covered herself. "Where are my clothes?"

"They're by the window. We had to remove them so we could look for injuries." Diana said as she retrieved the folded clothes and handed them to Kim. "I can't reveal anymore to you about my home without permission from my mother, Queen Hippolyta. I'm supposed to take you to her when you feel well enough to walk." Diana said to her. "If you don't mind me saying, you have nothing to be ashamed of." Diana said when she noticed her guest's discomfort.

"Thanks for the compliment." Kim said as she turned her back to her host as she slid the top of her uniform on and then the bottoms.

"What's your name?"

"What?"

"I was asking your name." Diana said.

Kim knew she couldn't use her real name. She could just tell her that her name was Superwoman, but she doubted that the woman would want to call her by that. Well, maybe _one_ of her names would do. "My name is Kara. Kara Jor-El. Where exactly is your island?" Kim asked.

"I'm afraid I can't reveal that to you." She said as Kim stood to her feet.

Kim flexed her body here and there to try and will away some of the stiffness she was feeling. As she flexed her shoulders and arms, she winced a little as she heard a few bones pop here and there. She turned and faced Diana as she picked up her cape and saw how burned and torn it was.

"I am sorry about your cloak. I'm afraid we can't repair it."

"Don't worry, I have several spares at home." Kim said as she popped her neck. "How long have I been here?" Kim asked as she looked out the window.

"Three days. We weren't sure if you were alive or dead. If you're ready, I can take you to see my mother. Your arrival has made many of us uneasy. Some think you're an invader sent to destroy our city." Diana said and noticed the look on Kim's face. "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, I just – wow." Kim said as she looked at the large city before her. Everything was finely sculpted to almost perfection. In her travels, she had seen the ruins of some of the roman cities, but this was nothing compared to them. The city almost seemed to glow. The beauty of everything as it stood as a living and thriving civilization was – incredible. None of the movies Hollywood had made could even come close to what she was seeing. "This is incredible." Kim said as she looked at it.

"Kara?"

"What?" Kim said, snapping her mind back into the present.

"I can take you to see my mother now." Diana said.

"Of course. Lead the way." Kim said.

* * *

"Your majesty, we can't trust this – visitor!" Artemis said as her queen sat in her throne.

"Artemis, it falls onto me to decide what is to become of this woman and I alone." the queen said to the warrior as she brushed a lock of her jet black hair aside.

"But we can't,"

"ARTEMIS!" the queen shouted, silencing the warrior instantly. "Until I am done speaking with her, you are not to speak unless spoken to. Is that clear?"

"Yes, your Majesty." Artemis said and bowed.

"Mother?" Diana called as she entered the royal throne room. "I present to you Kara Jor-El." Diana said and stepped aside.

Kim stepped into the throne room and took a quick glance and noticed the several armed women warriors that were in the room. Before taking another step forward, Kim kneeled before the queen with her head looking downward.

"It is an honor to meet you, your Highness." Kim said, remembering the manners her parents had taught her growing up. She might be stubborn and hot headed, but she knew when to give someone respect.

"You may rise." Queen Hippolyta said and gazed at the woman before her. It was almost like she was trying to sum her up in one glance, like someone sizing up a steak at a meat market. "I trust my daughter has told you where you are?"

"As much as she could, your majesty. I'm still – amazed that such a place exits." Kim said to her.

"Thank you. Now, why did you attack us?"

"Attack? I didn't attack you."

"Don't lie to us, you"

"ARTEMIS!" the Queen shouted. After a moment, the young Amazon fell back into place before the queen returned her attention to the young red head. "As you were saying?"

"Ma'am, I didn't attack your home. I flew into a storm and was struck by a bolt of lightning. When I woke up, I was here."

"You flew?" Diana asked her.

"Impossible!" one of the Amazon warriors shouted and was soon joined by others.

"SILENCE!" the queen's voice echoed throughout the room, silencing her warriors. "My dear, what they say is true. Only the Gods of Olympus can give such a precious gift to a human." The Queen said to her.

"Well, your highness, that's the answer to your question. I'm not human." Kim said and noticed the abrupt silence that followed.

"You are not human?" the queen asked her.

Kim soon found herself telling her origins to the women before her. From growing up in what they called Man's World, to her discovery of her powers, and to finding out who and what she was. She left her real name out, and didn't mention anything of her family. When she finished, she saw that the queen, and as well as several others, were in deep thought. I guess it wasn't everyday they encountered an alien from another planet. Kim was anxious in waiting for her to reply. She knew their weapons most likely wouldn't hurt her, but a fight wasn't something she wanted at the moment. She was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact she was on an island where the ancient Greek culture still thrived.

"Wanderer, I shall believe for the moment. But I must confess, your story is hard to believe. Can you offer evidence to what you are saying is true?" the queen asked.

To the astonishment of everyone there, Kim soon began floating higher and higher up until she was almost within arms reach of the ceiling. At that moment, no one knew what to say or what to do at the moment.

"Is this enough proof for you?" Kim asked.

* * *

"Are you sure?" Ron asked as he roared through the streets of Gotham in the Tumbler.

"_I'm positive. I've scanned all of Metropolis, and I can't find her."_ J'onn said.

"This isn't like her. What about Middleton? Have you checked there yet?" Ron asked.

"_I'm on my way now. Ron, I have a bad feeling about this."_

"So do I. But if I know KP, she'll be somewhere private. While you're in Colorado, make sure you scan for her close to the Rockies. Her mother owns a cabin out there that she visits every so often. It's where her ship landed."

"_Understood. But what if we don't find her?"_

"Then there might only be one place left. Report back when you've done a sweep of Colorado."

"_Copy. J'onn out."_

As soon as the transmission ended, Ron brought the massive assault vehicle to a screeching halt as the canopy opened. As Ron exited the vehicle, he could hear Wade activating the comm. link in his cowl.

"I'm working, Oracle."

"_I know, but I've got a call from Sherri. Whatever it is, it sounds important." _

"Patch her through and make it quick." Ron said as he ducked into the shadows, hiding himself from everyone and everything. "What's up, Sherri baby?" he asked in his "Ron" voice, and keeping it to a whisper.

"_What's with the shush voice? You got a cold or something?"_

"Actually, I'm in the middle of a Bricks of Fury marathon."

"_I should have known. Listen, I wanted to let you know that Dr. Irons is going to be okay. It looks like nothing serious."_

"That's a relief to hear. I'd hate for all his work to go to waste." Ron said as he began to scale the side of the building, using a large pipe that was attached to the rain gutters.

"_That's the other thing I'm calling about. Dr. Irons is having to go back and see what went wrong, and I've just gotten a business proposal I can't turn down. I'm sorry Ron, but I'm going to have to shelf our little project."_

"What?" Ron growled, barley keeping his voice low or in a normal tone. That project was too important to be shoved onto a back burner! "Sherri, we need to talk about this."

"_I'm sorry, Ron. But business is business."_ Sherri said and hung up.

"_Sorry about that, Batman."_ Wade said over the cowl comm.

"Something didn't sound right."

"_No offence, but nothing sounds right to you."_

"Just do some checking and see what's going on. If I know Sherri, this new offer isn't something she wants out in the open." He said as he came to a window for a basement lab/office and began to pick the lock.

"_Anything else?"_

"Yes. Book me on the first morning flight to Metropolis. This isn't over." Ron said as he opened the window and entered the office.

Like a cat surveying its surroundings, he scanned every single book, piece of equipment, and every piece of furniture in the room. The first thing he noticed that seemed out of place was the piece of paper that was crumpled and left on a counter top. Unfolding it carefully, his since of worry began to rise dramatically. It was a letter from the medical board, informing the letter's recipient that his action was brought to their attention from through another co-worker. The board dismissed the accusations, but that meant the other co-worker was in danger.

"If you're wondering about that nosy bitch," a voice said behind him. As he spun around, he was assaulted with a puff of gas to his face. "I've already taken care of her."

His lungs felt like they were on fire as he tried coughing the toxin out, but it wasn't working. He opened his eyes, and saw everything around him was shifting and changing. And he saw a man wearing a tattered overcoat that had been buttoned together, with a pair of tattered burlap gloves with a finger or two missing. The man's face was hidden with a tattered burlap mask with a rope tied into a hangman's noose hung around his neck like he was wearing a tie.

"You know what happened to the curious cat. Don't you, Batman?" he asked as flashes from his past began to appear before him. He was immobilized, and needed to escape. It was harder for him to find what he needed on his belt with his perception of everything becoming impaired. Hoping what he was grasping was the right item, he removed it and threw it to the ground as hard as he could.

In an explosion of bright light, the masked man screamed in pain as he was temporarily blinded. This gave Ron the time he needed to escape out the way he came. He stumbled a few times as he ran to the tumbler. The flashes were almost dominating his mind as everything around him began to reflect a 60's acid trip. Somehow, he forced himself to climb inside the massive assault vehicle and activated the computer systems.

"H-Home." Ron groaned as the visions completely took over him. Over and over again, he was reliving the night his parents were killed. Zorro had won the girl, there was mom and dad. The dark alley, catching up to them. The monster and then two shots. They weren't moving, not breathing. The monster and two shots. Then their blood began to pool all around them. So much red. Why? The monster and two shots. Why? Why did he let him live? The monster and two shots. It was one of the worst moments of his life being replayed in front of him over and over again. The monster and two shots. Two shots. Two shots.

Then it was replaced by something else. But what is it? What could it be? What was worst than loosing his parents on that horrible night? There was snow, and a street. A house. Wait, it wasn't just any house. It was _her_ house. He was hugging her, holding her one last time. When they broke away from each other, she had tears in her eyes. She couldn't stop crying, even as she started to back away from him.

"_Goodbye, Ron."_ She said to him and quickly began to shrink away from sight.

"NOOOOO!" Ron shouted as loud as he could, unaware that he was now lying on the floor of the batcave.

"Ron! RON! SNAP OUT OF IT!" Wade was shouting.

"KP. KP. Please – don't leave me." Ron whispered before he finally passed out.

* * *

"Everything has changed so much." Diana said as she and Kim walked through the massive city. Kim had been telling her everything that she knew about the world she came from, and Diana was like a sponge wanting to hear more.

"The world is a very different place now. No one here has ever visited it?" Kim asked her new found friend.

"No one has ever wanted to leave. Most of the women here still believe that men still do nothing but oppress women into subservient roles and treat them as property."

"I'm not going to lie, but there are some men out there that still think that way. But not everyone is like that anymore. The world has had to grow up."

"I've often wanted to see what the rest of the world is like, even when I was a child. What wonders humans have created and discovered." Diana said.

"You grew up here?"

"My sister and I were born here. We were raised by my mother, as well as our fellow Amazon sisters." Diana said, which confused Kim for a brief moment. She was given a brief explanation of the island; how they turned their backs on the world that was ruled by men that wanted women submissive. A few theories went through Kim's head, but part of her still wanted to ask the question.

"Out of curiosity, Diana; how,"

"You're wondering how I was born on an island with no men?" Diana asked her. "I wasn't born the way humans are brought into this world. My mother sculpted me out of clay, and the Gods gave me life." Diana said to her.

"Okay." Kim said. Kim wasn't an idiot, but she also didn't know what to believe at the moment. Here she was on an ancient island that was populated by immortal warriors in the middle of nowhere. She knew her situation would be something just about any man would give almost anything for. But Kim had noticed something about the queen earlier. It was a strange look in her eyes when she had told everyone about the advances the world had made since the days of Rome. The look on the queen's face was almost unsettling.

"Your mother seemed a little anxious when I explained how everything is now."

"She's always been like that. Her first priority is to her kingdom. With you telling us all the marvels people in Man's World can now create, she has begun to worry about our survival."

"Out of curiosity, how did she become queen?" Kim asked, and noticed how Diana's cheerful demeanor seemed to dim a bit. "I'm sorry. If it's too personal,"

"No, it's not that. It's just such a sad story. You see, the Amazons were a great warrior race, and were favored by the Goddesses of Olympus. My mother was one of their bravest warriors. But the fall of Achilles proved that everyone has a weakness. Including my mother."

"What happened to her?" Kim asked as they took a seat in one of the gardens that was close to the shore.

"My mother fell in love with one of the Gods, and he loved her in return. At first, their love was blessed and favored by the Gods and Amazons alike. But my mother found out that the man she had fallen in love with was also a cruel and hateful being. He sought to conquer Mt. Olympus and rule the Gods and the world. He had raised an army behind my mother's back and drugged the Amazon warriors. They – they," Diana tried to say it, but couldn't. It was hard to imagine the strong women she knew and cared for so much had been subjected to such horrid humiliation. She saw the anger and pure rage beginning to build in Diana's eye

"It's okay. I understand what you mean." Kim said, placing a firm grasp on Diana's shoulder.

"Thank you. Anyway, her lover would have succeeded if my mother hadn't fought back. She begged to Athena for help. Athena gave the Amazons the power to overcome the drugs, but they had to promise not to hurt the men since they were under her lover's control. Once they regained consciousness, their rage overcame them and they slaughtered his army for humiliating them. My mother fought her lover long enough for the Gods to discover what was happening, and put a stop to him and his plans. They banished him into the underworld, along with those of his army that served him willingly. And even though she aided in stopping him, my mother was to be punished for her help in his attempt to conquer Olympus. And the Amazons would be punished for breaking their promise to the Goddess Athena. So, she and the other Amazons were banished to this island to forever guard the entrance into the underworld. Their duties were to keep its doors closed, and slay any evil that escaped from it." Diana said.

After hearing this story, Kim began to wonder who her mother had fallen in love with. From what she knew of Greek tales, the Gods had always pissed each other off one way or another. But Kim never heard of any story like the one Diana had just told her.

"Diana, who was the God your mother fell in love with?" Kim asked her.

"It was Hades." Diana said to her, looking downcast as she felt the embarrassment of her mother's poor choice in men.

"Wow." Kim said to herself. "Well, we all make mistakes. I dated several idiots before I finally found the man I really loved." Kim said to her.

"You did?"

"Oh, yeah. One of them was an artist named Josh. I mainly went out with him because he was one of the pretty looking guys, and didn't pay attention to the person he was. Don't get me wrong, he was a complete gentlemen. We just never – never seemed to feel right together." She said to Diana.

"I understand. There is only one couple on the island that has lasted through the years. I think that was mainly because of their relationship before they swore vows to each other."

"Let me guess. They were best friends?" Kim asked.

"How did you know?" Diana asked her.

"Let's just say I understand." Kim said to the princess. "You said your people have to guard that entrance. Has anything ever escaped?"

"Several have tried. Only once did Hates escape from his prison. My mother took it upon herself to track him down and dragged him back by his ears." Diana said with a smirk when she remembered her mother almost shoving her foot up that monster's arse as she kicked him back into his prison.

"What do you think she's doing now?" Kim asked.

"I am honesty not sure."

* * *

Inside the royal palace, Queen Hippolyta stood in front of what seemed to be a massive tribunal. A small amount of fear ran through her veins as she kneeled before the large figures before her as they dwarfed her size by leaps and bounds. The gathered council before her was none other that the Greek Gods of Olympus themselves. The last time she had faces all of the Gods together, it was to await her sentencing for her hand with Hades uprising. It was safe to say, she was more than a little nervous to be facing them once again.

"It has been a long time since we last met, Hippolyta." Aphrodite said to the Amazon.

"Gods of Olympus, I come to you with a request." She said to them.

"Another request? If I recall, we had already granted your request when we gave life to your daughters Diana and Dona." Athena said to her.

"I know. For that, I will always be eternally thankful for that. But a visitor has come to Themyscira, my lords."

"A visitor?" Hera asked.

"Yes. A woman from the outside world, unlike any I have ever seen. She has the gifts you have given my daughter, Diana; as well as many more. She claims to be a child of the stars." Hippolyta said to them.

"A child of the stars?" Hermes asked.

"I know who she's talking about. It's the chick known as Superwoman. The Kryptonian that was sent to Earth. From what I can see, she puts your little Girl Scout troupe to shame, Athena." Ares said.

"Don't you have a village or something to go blow up?" Apollo asked him.

"How about you let your kid have a ride in your chariot? Wait, you already tried that, haven't you?" he shot back.

"YOU LOTHSOAME SON OF A,"

"ENOUGH!" Zeus' voice boomed, echoing like a thunder clap. "Listening to all of you bicker is enough to drive anyone of us insane."

"Come on, pop. They,"

"Enough, Ares!" Zeus boomed and waited for his son to be quiet. "Hippolyta, what is your request?"

"For years, we have been in isolation from everyone and everything. From what this star child has told me of Man's World, it has me worried. If anyone else wanted to unleash what nightmares reside in the underworld, my warriors would be powerless to stop the weapons they now posses. There is so much that we do not know about now. How can my people protect themselves when we don't know how to prepare ourselves?"

"If you are asking to leave the island," Hera started.

"No, my goddess. I still remember why we were put there and the only reason why I can leave. But my request is that one of the other warriors act as an emissary. A champion to let us know what has happened since our banishment." She said to them.

The Gods sat and pondered this request. Only a few had decided to leave Olympus and actually live in the world of man, but they had been told enough by those Gods to know that what Hippolyta was saying had a ring of truth to it. They had very little contact from the rest of the world since they were placed on the island, and were now strangers in a strange land. With the weapons the humans now had, the Amazons would have a slim chance of winning in a fight.

"Zeus, what do you think we should do?" Aphrodite asked her brother.

"I'm not sure." Zeus said as he glanced at his son, Ares. Ares had long since given up wearing his armor unless he was actually involved in a war. He saw him sitting in his place, wearing a pressed black suit, his long hair slicked back and tied into a ponytail, and a pair of reflective sunglasses hiding his eyes. Things have changed since the old days. Now Ares was what the humans called an Arms Dealer. Selling weapons to the highest bidder. And he knew his son would not hesitate to arm anyone when it came to creating war. He let out a deep sigh as he came to a decision.

"Hippolyta, I have decided that we will grant your request. But it falls upon you to find a champion. One who upholds your beliefs and values life. This decision must not be made lightly." Zeus said to her.

"I understand." Hippolyta said as the Gods began to fade from her sight, returning to Mt. Olympus. "Antiope!" Hippolyta called out.

"Yes, your highness?" the warrior asked as she entered the throne room.

"Prepare the arena and inform the Amazons that a contest will be held. The winner will accompany the star child back to Man's World and shall be our emissary." Hippolyta said to her. "Those who want to enter may do so of their own free will."

"Yes, my queen." The warrior said and began to leave.

"Also," Hippolyta said. "bring Diana to me as soon as you can."

* * *

"How is he?" Wade asked as J'onn lifted his hand from Ron's sweating forehead.

"He'll be fine. The anti-toxin Dr. Possible created has neutralized its poison." The Martian said as his red eyes faded to a normal brown.

"Thank God." Wade said to himself.

"How long has he been like that?"

"For two days. Dr. Possible is making more of the antidote just in case. I didn't know the fear toxin was that powerful." Wade said.

"It isn't. That can only mean Dr. Crane has strengthened it." J'onn said as he put his coat back on. "Have you found out anything abut Kim?" J'onn asked.

"Nothing. It's like she's dropped off the face of the Earth, and the crime in Metropolis is starting to notice. Yesterdays, a bunch of experimental equipment was stolen from Gough Industries." Wade said.

"Experimental? What kind of equipment?"

"That's what's even weirder. It was long range communications equipment. From what I can tell, the stuff was made to try and contact extraterrestrial life." Wade told him as the left Ron's bedroom and started walking down the large staircase.

"I wish I could say I'd take a look, but I need to capture Crane before he can do anything else." J'onn said.

"I don't know, J'onn. We don't know if you're immune to that crap. Plus, I don't know how he'll react to seeing a Martian."

"Who said anything about a Martian?" J'onn asked as his form began to twist and melt. Within seconds, an exact image of Ron as Batman stood in front of Wade, wearing a brown coat. "Keep looking for Kim; I'll take out the trash." J'onn said in Ron's "bat" voice as he left the mansion.

"I'm never going to get used to this gig." Wade said as he shook his head.

* * *

Kim had to admit, she did enjoy her stay on Themyscira. But she knew that Metropolis needed her. Who knows what was going on while she had been staying here. But it was nice to know the she and Sherri weren't the only tough girls in the world. A smile crossed her face as she imagined what old Ron would have done if he had met Diana. As she imagined her old friend's reaction, her hearing began to receive something. It was the loud grunts and cries of one of the warriors. And judging by the loud echoing clangs of metal and wood splintering, they were training somewhere. Focusing her vision to the source of the angry cries, she was mildly surprised to see Diana training herself hard with a long sword. Wondering what was wrong; Kim leapt from the window and began flying toward the training grounds.

As Kim came in for a landing, she could see the remains of what used to be various dummies, targets, and other practice devices. As Kim touched down, she could see Diana was showing no mercy to anything that was in her path.

"Diana?"

If Kim's senses and instincts were as fine tuned as they were, the sword she had caught in her hand would have pierced her skull.

"Kara! I'm so sorry, I – I wasn't thinking." Diana said as Kim dropped the sword.

"I'm guessing there's something wrong?" Kim asked her.

"My mother has decided that one of us will be going with you when you leave. Acting as an ambassador for us." Diana said as she picked up the sword.

"That doesn't sound too bad."

"Except there will be a contest to see who will be worthy enough to go. And my mother – SHE'S FORBIDDEN ME TO ENTER IT!" Diana shouted as she threw the sword, decapitating a dummy before it embedded itself into the granite wall. "All my life, I have done nothing but to show her how strong I am! How great a warrior I can be! And when the chance arrives for me to prove myself to her, she tells me no!" Diana shouted as she picked up a near by chariot and tore it into several pieces as she roared in anger.

"Okay, I think it's time you sat down and cooled off." Kim said and sat her down on what was left of an archery target.

"I apologize for my behavior, Kara. But it's so frustrating. No matter what I do, it feels like I must always prove myself to my mother. All I want to do is make her proud of me." Diana said.

"I understand what you mean." Kim said to her with a slight chuckle. "When I was younger, and before I had all my powers, I used to go around the world and help anyone that was in trouble. My parents were so proud of me for helping others, and the fact that I never asked for anything in return."

"From your story, it sounds that you had already proven yourself to them."

"Just wait." Kim said as she took a deep breath. "A couple of years ago, my father died of a heart attack. Instead of using my abilities, I called for help. For weeks, I thought I could have gotten to a doctor faster. With all my abilities, I was sure I could have helped him. For a long time, I thought I had failed him and my mother." Kim said.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thanks. But it took my best friend kicking some sense into me. And I learned that my parents were still proud of me. In fact, I think part of the reason I've been helping people again is to prove myself to my biological parents."

"You mean your real parents?"

"I don't like to use that. I just think I have four parents. But a part of me feels like I'm trying to prove myself to them, even thought they passed away when I was just a baby. And it feels like – I've failed them too." Kim said and looked at the ground.

"How have you failed them? From what you've told us, you're a great warrior and guardian."

"Something – something happened not too long ago. When I crashed onto your island, I was trying to get away from everything. You know what a school is, right?"

"Yes."

"Good. Not too long ago, two teenagers went into an elementary school and – they tried to kill as many as they could." Kim said, having a hard time keeping her bile down.

"They tried to kill the children?" Diana asked her. When Kim nodded her head yes, it threw Diana into complete shock. "Why would they do that?"

"They said it was because they weren't white. Because the color of their skin was different." Kim said as she tried her best to keep the memories of what she saw out of her head.

"Were you able to save them?"

"Not all of them. There were some that were crying because of their wounds. Several had stomach wounds. They shot them there on purpose, to make them suffer. I got there in time to stop one of them from shooting a little girl in the head. It took everything I had not to break their backs in half." Kim said as her fists began to ball tightly.

"You spared them? If that had happened to one of us, we would have shown them no mercy! We,"

"No, Diana. If I had done that, I would've lowered myself to their level. I would have been no better than them." Kim said to her.

What Kim had said to Diana struck a cord in her. For many years, when she learned of how her people's history, she thought the Amazons were just for killing Hade's army. But after hearing what Kim said, she understood why Athena wanted to spare them. The Amazons were supposed to be better than that. And by breaking their promise, they had become no better than the men they had turned their backs to.

"Your friend that you spoke of, the one that helped you when your father died. Is he different from the stories I've heard of men?"

"Yes, he is. He's kind, considerate, and very funny. You called me a guardian earlier. To tell you the truth, my friend Ron is. He's looked out for me since we were children. In fact, he's become the guardian of a whole city now." Kim said to her.

"I wish my mother had known more like him back in the old times. Maybe they would have had a better life." Diana said.

"Maybe." Kim said as she picked up a practice dummies decapitated head, and looked at the helmet it wore. She smiled as the helmet's style reminded her of Ron's mask when he was the Batman. That's when it also gave her an idea. "Diana, what if you entered the contest using a disguise?" Kim asked as she pulled the dummies head out and tossed her the helmet.

Diana was confused momentarily by Kim's suggestion and being given the helmet. Diana looked at the helmet momentarily, wondering what her friend had meant. When she finally understood what she had meant, a small smirk began to appear on her face.

* * *

He didn't know how much more of this he could take. It had been weeks, maybe even days, since he had seen day light. How much longer could this go? He was halfway to a full beard, he reeked of his own body odor, and he was lucky they had a bathroom built into this cell. He had been in solitary condiment before, but never like this or this long. The sound of his own breathing was the only thing to calm him or give him comfort. How much longer can this go on? He could barley take it. No one was this sadistic and cruel, were they?

As if granting him a miracle, the large door to his prison cell opened and let in light for this first time in so long. He was blinded by it at first, hurting him and making him turn from it. But he braved the pain as he heard footsteps echo as someone entered the cell. He lowered his arms, and focused his eyes and recognized who was in there with him.

"You." He growled. His voice was raspy after not using it for so long, but he recognized the woman in front of him. His jailer!

"I guess I didn't snap the small and narrow mind of yours." Sherri said as she kneeled down in front of him. "God, you stink."

"No thanks to you, you bitch!"

"Watch your language, Corbin. I may have a reprieve for you."

"Why would I be interested in listening to you?" he asked her.

"Because if you don't, I'll make sure you'll never even see the glow of a light bulb ever again. Understand?" Sherri growled at the man.

"What do you need?" he asked her, anxious to get the hell out of this cell.

"I need you to do a little smash and grab for me." She said.

"And what do you want me to grab?"

"Everything you can find about Kimberly Ann Possible. All her medical records, school records, and even her picture albums. Any data you can find on her, I want it." Sherri said to her.

"Done." Corbin said; ready to get the hell out of there as fast as he could.

"Good. Mercy will take you to a room where you can bath and wash that stink off of you." Sherri said as he stood up and began to walk out as her assistant walked in.

"Out of curiosity, why are so interested in this Kimberly chick?" Corbin asked.

"Let's just say, I wanted to do some homework." Sherri said as Mercy dragged Corbin to his feet.

* * *

The contests had been long and very harsh. The rounds of the competition had been dealing with strength, agility, and stamina. It was almost like watching the gladiator games of Rome merged with the Olympics. Many of the Amazons that had entered the competition were already hurt. Some had broken bones while other were knocked unconscious or had suffered severe wounds. Kim was thankful that this competition was almost over.

There were now three remaining Amazon warriors left. Artemis, the warrior that still saw Kim as a threat to their way of life. Antiope, a strong and fierce Amazon that could almost pass off as Kim's sister. And the last one Kim was happy to see had been able to pass everyone one of them. She wore a white tunic with a battle helmet over her head, and hiding most of her face from recognition. These three were now down to the final challenge of the competition. Combat.

"Each Amazon shall draw a weapon of their choosing. Once the challenge has started, the goal will be to disable your opponent or until they yield. There is no need to strike a mortal blow during this time. Challengers, choose your weapon!" Queen Hippolyta said.

Artemis chose a mace while Antiope decided to use a bow-staff. The masked Amazon drew a sword as her weapon and met the other two in the center of the arena.

"BEGIN!"

At once, Artemis tried to strike the masked Amazon, but was blocked by Antiope's bow-staff before she used the other end to sweep Artemis off her feet. She then turned and tried to bring the staff on top of the masked Amazon's head. The masked warrior brought the sword above her head, blocking the blow and placing a firm and swift kick into her abdomen. That only gave her a brief moment to duck the blow of the mace, and summersault out of the way and brought the sword above her head again to block the mace.

She saw Antiope heading towards her with the bow ready to strike her. The masked Amazon turned away from her opponent and rolled along the ground, causing Antiope to strike Artemus' midsection. The masked warrior decided to use the confusion and punched Antiope in the kneecap, bringing her down as she shouted in pain. Artemus was reading for another attack against her with the mace, not leaving that much time to think. Almost on pure instinct, she did a back flip and planted both feet to the underside of her attacker's chin as she did so. As she stood on her feet, she smiled as she saw her opponent fall and lay unconscious.

That's when she felt the sting of the bow-staff strike against the side of her head, making the helmet ring like a bell. She felt another blow to the abdomen and across the face again before she grabbed the staff. She jabbed the staff into her attacker's abdomen and then backhanded her across the face with her forearm. Antiop staggered, but didn't fall. Both women were proud warriors and wouldn't fall easily. Using all the strength she could muster, Antiop rammed her masked opponent head on with the staff and pinned her to the ground with the staff pinned against the masked warrior's throat.

"You're not going to win. YIELD!" she shouted. The masked warrior muttered something, but it wasn't understandable. "What was that?

"I said – I'll yield when Tartarus freezes over!" she said pulled her feet beneath Antiope and pushed her off.

Antiope landed on her back and soon found her opponent on top of her. Not only was she applying more pressure to the staff on Antiope's windpipe, but she was also starting to crush her ribcage with her thighs.

"Yield."

"Never!" Antiope said and groaned as the masked Amazon applied more pressure to her rib cage with her thighs.

"Yield now, or I will crush your ribs." The masked warrior said.

The warrior refused to yield. But it became harder and harder for her to breath. The staff was choking her and the pressure on her ribs wasn't allowing her lungs to expand. She didn't have a choice. If she didn't give up, she'd suffocate.

"YIELD!" she shouted. The masked warrior stood and walked away, allowing Antiope to breathe once again.

"Well done, my sister. You have proven yourself worthy of being our emissary to Man's World. Please, remove your helmet and reveal yourself to us." Queen Hippolyta said to the woman below.

Kim didn't know whether or not to laugh or gulp when she heard the queen say those words. Worry began to set in as she looked below and saw the warrior reach for her helmet. When she saw the woman grasp her helmet, she noticed that she paused for a brief moment. It was almost like she was deciding not to.

"Come on, you can do it." Kim whispered to herself.

After a brief moment, the woman firmly grasped the helmet and removed it from her head and letting her raven black hair flow free. Almost all of the Amazon warriors gasped in surprise as Queen Hippolyta's face drained of color.

"D-Diana?"

"Mother." She said as Kim had a large grin on her face.

* * *

"I TOLD YOU THAT YOU WERE NOT TO COMPETE!" Hippolyta shouted as loud as she could, almost echoing like the voice of Zeus himself.

"You said that the competition was open to any Amazon that wished to compete." Diana said.

"But I also had forbid you from competing. I am the ruler of this island, and my word is law!"

"Then what cause did you have for forbidding me?" Diana demanded.

"What?" Hippolyta asked. She wasn't expecting her daughter to actually question her judgement.

"What gave you just cause to forbid me from competing?"

"I don't have to,"

"WHAT WAS IT, MOTHER?! Until today, have I ever disobeyed you? Have I ever shamed you or the other Amazons in any way? Am I an embarrassment? Are you ashamed of me? Have I not always been truthful?"

"You know I have never been ashamed of you. And no, you have never been a disgrace. You have always made me proud."

"Then why do I have to always prove myself to you? Why do you not want me to be like the rest of our people?"

"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO THROUGH WHAT I DID!" Hippolyta shouted, causing Diana to look upon her with confusion. "I do not want you to suffer as I had." She said again as she fought the tears that threatened to fall. "Diana, we were created by the Goddesses as their strength. Every Amazon here was created as you were. We are all the souls of women that were unjustly killed in our previous lives. Even in this new life, we still suffered at the hands of Hades and his – loathsome men." Hippolyta said as a few tears began to fall. "In my last life, I was pregnant with you. I had never been so happy in my life. But the man that was to be your father – he," Hippolyta said, but couldn't say it.

"Mother, what's wrong?" Diana asked her.

"The man that would have been your father, already had a wife and a child. He didn't want anyone else to know about me as his mistress or the evidence of his infidelity walking in plain view for everyone to see. So he murdered us, Diana. Before you were even born."

This news hit Diana like a rock. She had never known this part of her mother's life. She didn't even know that she had existed once before. Diana was so in shock that she didn't even notice her mother grasping her hands.

"When I begged the Gods to give me a child, they revealed to me that you were the baby I was to have in my last life. After all I had done, they gave you back to me. I – I don't want you to ever have to suffer as I had. Nor as you had once before." Hippolyta said as more tears began to fall. Bringing up these memories felt like she had torn open an old wound and poured salt and lemon juice into it. She looked into her daughter's face when she felt her squeeze her hands in return.

"Mother, I am an Amazon. All my life, I have been taught by the best and greatest warriors on how to defend myself. I am a strong woman because of them, and because of you. But I am not a child anymore. I am a grown woman; I have been for years now. It's time to take control of the destiny that the Gods have planned for me." Diana said to her.

"I can not talk you out of this, can I?" Hippolyta asked her.

"I'm afraid not, mother." Diana said as she watched her mother draw in a deep breath to steady herself.

"I always knew you were destined for greatness." Hippolyta said to her. "But there is one more task I must do before you can leave." Hippolyta said to her daughter.

* * *

The heavy hammer fell hard upon the heated metal, sending sparks flying across the stone room as heat filled it from top to bottom. It wasn't as hot as the hell Hades had been sent to, but it suited him just fine. This was where Hephaestus did his greatest work. Even though it was often taken for granted. It was also rare when he received visitors. Especially as fair as the tall woman that stepped out of the shadows and into the light of the furnace.

"As I live and breath. I haven't seen you in a long time, Hippolyta." He said as he scratched his thick, rough beard.

"How have you been?" she asked him.

"The same as I've always been." He said as he limped to the tub of water and submerged the hot metal into it, watching the steam rise. "I'm still tempted to cut this damn leg off and replace it with a better one that I made. Biggest mistake I ever made was falling off Olympus."

"I need your help, Hephaestus." She said to him.

"The last time you said that, I made an armor for you to wear to battle your ex-boyfriend." He said as he looked at the faded Gladiatrix style armor that hung on his wall. The breastplate was red, with a golden belt and the symbol of a phoenix forming a W along the top where her cleavage would have shown. The lower half was a sky blue metal skirt, looking more like a strange type of combination of armor and chastity belt. Each plate at the end had a white star on it. "Some of the best work I ever did. And you only used it that one time during – which war was it?" he asked her.

"It was World War II." Hippolyta said.

"Was that the one Aries started by taking out that arch duke, or the one that whiney Austrian started?"

"The Austrian. Hades had escaped and hid himself in the middle of that nightmarish hell. I had to join the Justice Society so I could find him."

"What was it they called you? I keep forgetting." He said as he removed the metal from the water and paced it back into the furnace.

"Hephaestus, I need you to make another suit of armor." Hippolyta said.

"Another one? What's wrong with the old one?" he asked her.

"It's not for me. It's for Diana." She said.

The old God slowly turned around and looked at the Amazon queen with a strange look on his face. "Diana? Little Diana? Did my ears deceive me, or are you actually cutting the apron strings?"

"The Gods are letting me send her into Man's World to let us now how much things have changed. But I want an armor that will protect her. Better than the one you made me. But have the coloring stay the same though. I want the people to know she is a friend, not a threat." She said.

"Always the over protective mother." Hephaestus chuckled. "Okay. Anything else?" he asked her.

"Yes." She said and removed her enchanted girdle. "Melt this down and turn it into a rope. Whoever is bound with it will be forced to only tell her the truth." She said as she handed it to the craftsman.

"You're sure about this?" he asked her.

"I'm sure." She said to him.

"All right. Oh, sewing really isn't my style; but, that cloak you wanted is over there." He said and nodded to a folded piece of red cloth that sat on a nearby shelf.

"Where can she be? It's already two weeks. Almost three!" Wade said to himself as he worked another invention.

* * *

He had been looking for any sign of Kim anywhere, but he couldn't find her. It was almost like she had fallen off the face of the Earth. Everyone was trying to do their part, but he didn't know how much longer Metropolis could hold out. It didn't help the day the Martian went after Crane that Ron snuck out as Batman and joined him. He imagined Crane probably had an accident when he saw two Batmen and one of them turned into a green alien. Wade still had to chuckle at that. Thank God the police thought he had been exposed to his own gas when he claimed to have seen a Martian.

Kim set down his tools and rubbed his eyes as he tried to think. Where the hell was Kim? Ron might be sure she'll be back, but not all of us were a renowned detective. This was so frustrating! Even when he was their tech guru back when they were younger and she had the website. He always worried about them. If he didn't find a way to calm down, he was going to,

"_Sonic disturbance detected."_ The computer said.

Wade wasted no time into running to the computer and typing up all the data as fast as he could. He had created the program to track jet trails in case someone from their rogue's gallery tired to make a fast getaway. But it also doubled as trying to find Kim. Sure enough, he was tracking a trail from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and it showed that it was heading to – to Gotham City?

"Hey, Wade." Kim said, spooking the poor young genius.

"KIM! Where have you been? I've been panicking like you wouldn't believe!" Wade shouted at her.

"I'm sorry, Wade. I just needed to get my head together for a little bit." Kim said.

"At least you're finally back, which means I can stop worrying." Wade said as he began to relax.

"Is this the Ron you spoke of?" another voice asked, causing Wade to look up.

"Who's that?" Wade asked.

"Sorry, Wade. I made a new friend while I was away, and I'm going to show her around. Wade, I'd like for you to meet Princess Diana." Kim said.

"Princess – Holy Mary Mother of God." Wade said as his jaw hit the floor of the batcave.

Standing in front of him was a tall, and very beautiful, raven haired women with flawless skin. She wore a bright red breast plat that left her shoulders and arms bare, and showed a very generous amount of cleavage. Along the top of the breast plate was a very bright and elegant design of some sort of bird that looked more like an elaborate W that went down to a large gold belt that sat around her waist. She also had silver gauntlets on her wrists, and a gold tiara with a ruby red star in the middle of it. At first, he thought she was wearing what looked like a bikini bottom, but it looked to be more like a chastity belt. It was cobalt blue that was decorated with white stars. If he hadn't known any better, he might have sworn she had made that part out of an American flag. Around her waist was also a rope that was made out of solid gold. The whole ensemble left very little to the imagination, even with her wearing red boots with white trim.

"Um – h-hi. I-it's v-v-very nice to – wow, what a hottie." Wade said.

"Was that a compliment?" Diana asked Kim.

"Yes, I think it was." Kim said with a chuckle.

"S-sorry. It's just – I mean wow! And she's a princess? WOW!" Wade said as he tried to roll his tongue back into his mouth. "And thank God you're back Kim. Maybe now Ron can have more luck with the kidnapping."

"Kidnapping? Wade, what kidnapping?" Kim asked him.

"I thought you might have heard by now." Wade said as he began to grow a little nervous.

"Wade, what kidnapping?" Kim asked a little more slowly.

"We found out that your mom's house was broken into yesterday. A bunch of things were taken, but there's something else." Wade said and pulled up some video footage that was in the computer's memory. "One of your neighbor's had a security system installed into their house, which included video cameras which caught this."

The video image showed a young black woman walking to Kim's old childhood home as a man came out the front door. Both paused for a moment before the man pulled out a gun and shot her with a dart, knocking her unconscious. After putting the loot he had stolen into his car, he then proceeded to pick up the woman and put her into the trunk.

"You mother and brothers were shot with a tranquilizer, so they never got a good look at the guy. So it's safe to say he shot her with the same thing. I'm still working on trying to get a clear image of the guy's face."

"Wade, was that who I think it was?" Kim asked him.

"I'm afraid so. Kim, Monique's been kidnapped."

**_TO BE CONTINUED . . . ._**


	12. Shattered Friendship

Well, here's the continuation of the last chapter. I hope you enjoy it, and thanks for all the reviews for this story. Thank you all very much. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

* * *

Invincible

By FAH3

"MOM!" Kim shouted as she rushed into the home she grew up in, franticly looking for her mother. "Mom! Where are you?!" Kim asked as she began to x-ray the entire house. The only thing on her mind was finding her.

"Kimmie?" Anne asked as she came down the stairs and saw her daughter's worried face. Before she could say anything else, she found her daughter almost crushing her in a bear hug.

"I'm glad you're okay." She said as she held onto her mother like she was fixing to float away.

"Kim, I'm fine. What about you? Where have you been?" Anne asked as she broke the embrace to look at her. "Everyone was so worried about you."

"That's a little hard to answer." Kim said to her mother as Diana stepped into the living room.

"I didn't see any sign of a threat outside." She said as she saw Kim and her mother.

"Kim, who's the woman in the metal bikini?" Anne asked her.

"That's Diana, and it's a long story. Mom, Wade filled me in. What happened? Who attacked you?" Kim asked her.

"I didn't see who it was. Your brother's and I were talking and I went to go fix some coffee. I heard the back door open; but when I turned to see who it was, I was hit by a dart. The next thing I remember was waking up on the floor." Anne said.

"Do you still have the dart?"

"No, it wasn't there when I woke up." Anne said as she sat down on the couch with Kim and Diana sitting in a near by love seat.

"What all did this guy take?" Kim asked.

"That's the strange part. He took a couple of your yearbooks, and a couple of pictures from the photo album. He also took all your medical records and school papers." Anne said.

"He didn't get your scrap book, did he?" Kim quickly asked her.

"Scrap book?" Diana asked.

"I started collecting all the news about Kim in a small book. And no, honey. He didn't find it." Anne said.

"That's a relief." Kim sighed to herself.

"I don't understand what all the concern is about. I'm glad you came to check up on me,"

"She doesn't know about your friend." Diana said.

"Kimmie?" Anne asked her daughter.

"Mom, Wade was able to get some footage of this guy from a neighbor's security system. He's got a picture of the guy, but he's still trying to clear it up. But it also showed Monique coming for a visit, and he took her." Kim said.

"Oh my God. M-Monique came back to town not too long ago. Something to do with fashion, and we've been talking every so often. This man actually kidnapped her?" Anne asked.

"We're afraid so." Diana said.

"Oh dear God." Anne said as the worry on her face became evident.

"Diana, I'm sorry to do this. I know I said I'd help you understand how everything works, but I've got to go find Monique." Kim said to the Amazon princess.

"I understand. I will guard your mother if the barbarian returns." Diana said to her.

"Please and Thank you." Kim said before she flew out of the house faster than anyone could see. For a moment or two, there was an awkward silence between the two women.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" Anne asked the woman.

"Please." Diana said. "May I ask you something?" Dian asked as Anne went into the kitchen.

"Sure."

"Why do you call her Kim?"

* * *

The heavy metal doors slid open with a hiss, allowing Sherri and Mercy to enter the secured facility. Sherri was a little agitated to be contacted by Corbin so openly. Even after throwing his ass in a box for several weeks, he still had to be a smug, arrogant bastard. Every part of her wanted to lock him away and throw away the key, but the man was too damn good at his job. Whatever it was that needed her to be down here in person, it had better be good. Otherwise, she'd lock Corbin away and never let him out. All too soon, she saw the blond haired man in front of a holding cell. The smirk on his face was too obvious, even from the far distance she was from him.

"Nice to see you could come and visit." He said to her.

"Cut all the bull, John. Just what the hell is so damned important that I had to be dragged out of a business merger?" she asked him.

"You know the little errand you sent me on?" he asked her.

"Don't play your stupid games with me. I'm not in the mood, so spill it." Sherri growled.

"Well, take a look." He said and looked back at the holding cell.

Sherri and Mercy looked in, and Sherri's eyes widened with shock and disbelief. Sitting in the room, with her feet bound and her hands tied behind her back, was a young black woman with long hair and her eyes blindfolded.

"What the hell did you do?" she growled.

"You wanted information about the Daily Planet's new reporter, so I brought the best source. This is one of her friends." John said to her.

Within a matter of seconds, his back and head slammed against the wall while Sherri held him by his throat. As he tried to regain his bearings, he noticed how her grip seemed to be getting warmer and warmer. Finally, it felt like her hand was almost on fire as he felt his neck burning.

"You stupid little punk! You've involved me in kidnapping! I should tie you to a rock in the middle of no where and let the birds peck your eyes out." She said as her make-up began to melt off various places on her face, revealing pale green skin underneath.

"You don't understand, do you? I'm not that dumb!" he said as he winced at the burning pain he was feeling on his neck. "She's also one of the newest fashion designer's out there. Her creations are becoming so popular, that she's starting her own business. Not only can she give you information about Possible, but you can hold her for a bloody ransom."

"I don't play those kinds of games anymore." Sherri said as most of the make up dripped of her face, revealing who she truly was.

"Shego!" Corbin gasped at who he was seeing. "Wait! WAIT! There's something else. That medallion around her neck, I've seen it before. It was part of an African legend."

"Do I look like Indiana Jones?"

"You don't understand! That amulet she's wearing is supposed to have mystical abilities. With that amulet, it would give the wearer the abilities of any animal known to man! If she could reveal the secrets to you, you'd be able to take on anyone. Even Superwoman." Corbin said.

Sherri let go of Corbin's neck as she thought about what he had just told her. It was no secret had a very large thirst for power. But to possess the power to scare people into submission; to control them would be grand. Or the power to show that she could beat their greatest hero would be even greater.

"Excellent. I'll order some truth serum to be ready." Sherri said.

"I wouldn't if I were you, Sherri." Mercy said as she walked over with a few sheets of paper. "According to this, she doesn't respond well to certain drugs. The tranquilizer almost put her into a coma. The truth serum would most likely kill her." Mercy said to her.

"Oh, dear. That is a shame. A very terrible shame." Sherri said as she looked at the young woman again. "For her." She said with a large grin forming on her face.

* * *

Kim walked straight into the hustle and bustle of the City Room, ignoring all the greetings and questions she was getting from everyone. Her mind was too busy trying to figure out where to start looking for Monique in the first place. She would prefer to look for her as her alter ego, but knew a lot of people still didn't trust her. The cops trying to arrest her at that elementary school pointed that out. Not to mention she would still need evidence to get this jerk arrested.

But then she remembered the power she had as a reporter. The power of the press could also have the power to change the course of mighty rivers if it was used the right way. She just needed to figure out where to begin.

"Hey there, Middleton. Back so soon?" Lois asked her as Kim got to her desk and booted up her computer.

"What?"

"Your rich boyfriend called Perry and let him know about the extra long date to the Bahamas he took you on. But since you don't have that much of a tan, I'm guessing you two didn't leave the hotel that much?" she asked.

"_Thanks for covering for me, Ron."_ Kim thought to herself. "Something like that. I can't talk about it now, though." Kim said as she opened her browser and immediately tried to look up anything she could find about Monique's business.

"Come on, Kim. I'm not a shy little schoolgirl that's going to blush." Lois said, wanting some juicy details.

"Lois, I found out one of my friends was kidnapped." Kim said to her.

"Oh my God. Have the police found anything?" Lois asked her.

"They haven't found out anything. All they got is a fuzzy video image that they're too stupid to know how to clear up." Kim said as she started skimming through data.

"Monique? Monique, the fashion designer?" Lois asked as she glanced at Kim's screen.

"Yeah, we went to High School. The guy that kidnapped her also robbed my mom's house and drugged her."

"Oh, God. She wasn't?"

"No, thank Christ. All I know is that Monique tried to start her business back in our hometown. It looks like some of the top fashion companies weren't happy about her going independent either." Kim said as she browsed through the data.

"I'll start making calls to my contacts and see if they know anything." Lois said.

"Lois, you don't have to."

"I know. George? This is Lois Lane, Daily Planet. I'm calling in that favor you owe me." Lois said into the phone.

Kim couldn't help but smile at Lois' actions. It might not exactly be what she and Ron had back in High School, but it felt good to be with a team again. She just prayed she could find out something soon. If anything happened to Monique, she'd never forgive herself.

* * *

"Anything?" Ron asked as he entered the bat cave.

"The computer almost has the image cleaned up enough to give us an idea who we're dealing with. I hate to say this, but even Gotham PD has more advanced equipment than Middleton does." Wade said to his friend.

"Middleton is a small town that doesn't have a major crime rate. The closest thing they get to a kidnapping is when a pet is taken." Ron said as he walked over to the vault that held his uniform.

"And Kim's finally back. She's trying to find anything she can on her end." Wade said as he watched Ron begin to enter the vault's code.

"About time she came back." Ron said simply. Wade knew Ron was upset when Kim left the first time, but never said or did anything about it. If Ron was acting this cold again, that meant he might be mad at her. Lately, he couldn't tell. Ron was cold and kept to himself ever since his parents were killed. When Kim came back, he seemed to improve little by little. But now here they were, back at square one. "Wade, what did you do to the bat suit?" Ron asked him as the vault doors opened.

"I noticed something about the old one. Even thought it protected you, it limited your mobility. So I was able to use Stoppable Industries R&D to make a new one." Wade said.

"It looks like a suit of armor." Ron said as he removed a gauntlet and saw the spikes pop up.

"That's what it roughly is. It increases the chance of being stabbed or shot only slightly, but it allows you to use your body to its full extent." Wade said.

Ron looked up at Wade to say something, but stopped when he saw the spikes on the gauntlet fly free and embedded themselves into one of Ron's practice dummies. Ron looked back at Wade with a questioning eyebrow as Wade gave a nervous chuckle.

"I might have added one or two things." Wade said.

"We'll talk about this when I get back." Ron said as he put the gauntlet back and removed his robe. "Get back to the video footage."

"Right." Wade said as he went back to his seat in front of the computer. No sooner had he sat down, the computer began to beep to let him know its task was complete. "Ron! It finished cleaning the video!"

"Play it." Ron said.

The video began as it usually did, but now it was zoomed into the area the attacker appeared with a sharper and cleaner image. His face was still hidden the shadows when he shot Monique. And you still couldn't get a good look at him since he was looking down when he approached her. It seemed like it was a waste of effort as he picked her up and began placing her in the car. That's when they got it. He looked straight in the camera's direction as he was coming around the car again, and they had a crystal clear image of his face.

"YES! We've got him!" Wade shouted with glee.

"Run it against every criminal data base. I want that thing matched by the time I get back." Ron said in his bat voice.

As Wade turned around, a gasp escaped him as he saw Ron in his new suit with the cloaked draped around him, hiding most of his body from sight. The way the first suit and mask made him look was scary. But now with this new model, he looked absolutely terrifying. For a moment, he actually did look like something that had crawled out of someone's nightmares.

"My God." Wade said as he moved past him and into the moonlight that was shinning over the opened Tumbler.

* * *

There was a brief whiff of ozone as he spliced the cables together. He examined the equipment before him and briefly scanned it. There still more alterations to be done in order to make this suitable for his needs. He was working quickly, but it may not be fast enough. He knew his leader had been patient for some time now, but that patience may be wearing thin. Perhaps it may not have been smart to create a human body. If he had created a cloned Kryptonian body, his work would be going faster. He ripped the panel off of another piece of equipment as his hand began to shift down the center of the palm as the flesh spilt and began to bleed. A small saw extended itself and began spinning as he lowered it to the equipment below.

"_What's your status?"_

"My lord?" Brainiac asked, stopping the saw for a moment.

"_How much longer until I am free from this damned hell?!" _Zod shouted through the comm. link.

"I've just now obtained the first pieces I need and still altering them, my lord." The cyborg said.

"_HOW LONG?!"_

"Almost a year; and that's if I can get the proper components without any interruption."

"_That's not good enough!"_

"I am sorry, General. But I do not possess the abilities of a Kryptonian. This will take time."

"_And if you had the abilities we would have on Earth?"_

"Most likely, the time frame would be drastically reduced." Brainiac said to him.

"_Then we have no choice. Wake the others at once. They are to help you in freeing me."_

"Are you sure that is wise, my lord? They are only loyal to you. There is no certainty that they will follow my orders."

"_The more time we waste, the sooner we will be discovered by Kara. She won't stay away forever. Wake my lieutenants."_ Zod said as the transmission ended.

"Yes, General Zod." Brainiac said.

He turned to a large empty section of the fortress as the three circles in his forehead made themselves known again. The crystal floor began to separate before him as something beneath began to rise. Within moments, a pillar rose with the black pentagonal ship sitting peacefully on it. One the floor stopped rising, it's two corners opened to reveal oval shaped pods with a large glass window in the front of both of them. Because of the frost and mist that had gathered inside of them, only a slightly visible silhouette could be seen. One seemed small, and rather feminine shaped. The other was large and bulky. It almost seemed like a behemoth was inside of it.

The circles grew brighter for an instant as the machinery in the pods began to come online. The pods lifted slightly upwards, cracking them open slightly and slowly started venting the gasses inside as a thick white fog. It would take a full twenty-four human hours before they were awake. If he tried to rush the process, there was too strong a chance of tissue damage or organ failure. At least it would give him time to finish altering the equipment and run a diagnostic. But having to deal with the two organics would not be easy.

* * *

It had been almost two days since Corning had shown her the little treat he had brought from Middleton. It didn't matter how many times Corbin had done good work for her, she didn't trust that smiling idiot. She was taking a very big chance, letting him talk her into keeping that girl around. Screw getting the information for the cyborg, she didn't want her ass in jail. Again. It had been years since she had sat in a Global Justice jail cell, and she wasn't eager to go back.

She groaned a little as she closed her eyes and remembered her little temper tantrum. She should have been more in control. Now thanks to her own stupidity, Corbin now knew who she really was. If Kim or the police got a hold of him, he'd most likely sell her out to get a lighter sentence. Hell, she knew he'd do it in a heartbeat to get her back for throwing him in that cell in her own building. It looks like she may have to take more drastic measures to make sure little Johnny keeps his mouth shut.

"_Sherri, we've got a priority transmission coming in for you. It's from Corbin." _Mercy said over the intercom.

"Patch him through." Sherri said as she lowered her large flat screen TV into place. A few seconds later, John's image appeared with a very worried look. "I said not to contact me unless it was an emergency." Sherri said to him.

"It is an emergency. Apparently, the little woman knows how ti use the amulet better than we thought." Corbin said as the sound of a loud crash echoed through the lab. "We have her contained for a the moment, but I don't' know for how long."

"Then what are you waiting for? Tank her!"

"And have a murder rap on my head? Forget it! I've already got a few of the men armed with tasers." Corbin said to her. That's when the sounds of a very loud crash echoed as the image began to shake and almost turn into static.

"CORBIN! WHAT'S GOING ON?" Sherri shouted.

"The brat just barged through the wall like it was cardboard! She's loose!"

"Then get her back there, now! And stay there! You made this mess, you clean it up!" Sherri said to him.

"Wait a minute, you"

Sherri didn't let him finish. She cut the transmission before he could say anything else. She should have known better than to let that outback punk talk her into that. Corbin's outlived his usefulness. It was time to nip this thing in the bud.

"Mercy?" she asked as she pressed the intercom.

"Yes, Sherri?"

"Take care of Corbin. Make sure no one finds him." She said.

"You've got it, Sherri." She said as the intercom cut out.

She needed a drink. She walked to the bar and grabbed the nearest bottle of Jack Daniel's she could grab. As she unscrewed the cap, she looked up and saw her reflection in the window.

"_You've finally done it."_ Her reflection said._ "You're now just like Lex Luthor."_

"I AM NOT!" Sherri screamed and hurled the bottle through the window.

She stood there for a few minutes as her temper flared for a few more minutes. As she began to calm down, she realized that the reflection was no longer there and that she was looking at a large hole in a large pane of glass.

"Crap." She said herself as she called maintenance. "This is Miss Gough. Would you please send someone immediately to replace a broken window?" She asked as she began to hear the faint sounds of a car alarm going off down below. "And call my lawyers. I have a feeling I just bought someone a new car."

* * *

Kim was exhausted as she stood in the elevator as it headed to her apartment floor. So far, every lead she and Lois thought they had was a dead end. She wished Wade would call or something. She was getting tired of being in the dark. She decided she would go on patrol and look for Monique herself. She was getting tired of not knowing where she was. She was doing her best not to think of what all could be happening to her while she was sitting in the dark.

As the elevator doors opened, Kim scanned the hallway to make sure the coast was clear. When she didn't see anyone, she began loosening her shirt and exposed part of the blue uniform that was underneath. Sometimes it was a pain in the ass to wear a pair of tights underneath a pair of normal clothes. She was half way to her apartment when she noticed something. There were footprints that started at the window and walked to her apartment.

Kim knelt down to get a closer look at the footprints that had become stained in the blue hallway carpet. As she looked at them closer, she realized that the footprints were in blood! Human blood! She looked at the apartment door, and saw blood covering the knob. The apartment had been locked, so whoever it was couldn't get in. She looked at the footprints again and saw that after stopping at her apartment, they went to a near by broom closet. Whoever was in there could be seriously hurt. As she started walking toward the closet, she lowered her glasses and looked through the door.

"Oh my God!" Kim said as she quickly opened the door and gasped at what she saw. "Monique?"

"Hey, girlfriend." She said as she gasped. On eye was swollen shut while the other was halfway. Both of her lips were swollen from being split, and it looked her nose was broken. There were several cuts and bruises all along her arms and legs, and her clothes looked like she had just been through a war zone.

"Monique, what happened to you?" Kim asked her as she helped her friend to her unsteady feet.

"It's a long story."

Monique was lying on the couch with an ice pack on her head. It turned out both of her arms had a hairline fracture, and a sprained ankle. She also had several cracked ribs. Kim was doing her best to clean the wounds with alcohol and peroxide and bandaging them up. Wen Kim found out who did this to her, she was going to put this guy in a world of hurt. Monique didn't deserve anything like this.

"They did this to you to find out about me?" Kim asked her.

"For a few hours. I told them everything I knew, but then they really started to put on the hurt." Monique said.

"But why would they want to know about me?" Kim asked herself.

"Beats me. Maybe you wrote an article someone did like."

"I'm so sorry about this, Monique. I never meant for this to happen."

"It's okay. But I swear, the way they were beating me. It was almost like they thought you were Superwoman or something." Monique said.

"Yeah, or something." Kim said as she bandaged another wound. "You said they asked about me for a few hours. What about the rest of the time?" Kim asked her friend.

"They asked about this." Monique said as she pulled an amulet out from under her shirt. "My ancestors came from Africa. The legend is one of them went to Anansi and asked him to give him a totem that would give him the powers of the animal kingdom, so he could protect his tribe. When you use this, it gives you the abilities of any animal you think of. That's how I got out. I went through that place like I was a rogue elephant, and I crawled up the building like a spider."

"Wow. And I thought I could do anything." Kim said. "Did you ever get a look at the guy that did this?"

"Yeah. Some blonde jerk that kept smiling a lot. He sounded like Crocodile Dundee." Monique said.

"John Corbin." Kim growled.

"Huh?"

"I know who you're talking about, Monique. I've had a run in with him before." Kim said as she stood and grabbed her coat. "I'm going to go to the police and tell them what you told me. I'll call Lois and get her over here to make sure no one comes looking for you." Kim said as she made her way to the door.

"Wait." Monique said as she sat herself up. "You can also tell them where that dill weed's hiding. I remember where they took me."

* * *

Kim wasted no time changing into her uniform and taking to the air. She was speeding her way across Metropolis with the intent on making Corbin pay for what he did to her friend.

"_Kim, it's Wade. I finally got a picture on the guy, but I don't have a confirmed ID yet."_

"It's John Corbin. He's also the ass that exposed me to Kryptonite and tried to kill me." Kim said.

"_I thought Ron was supposed to be the detective. I still don't have a location for him yet,"_

"He's hiding out at a Gough Industries facility near Hobbs Bay. Monique was able to escape and told me where he was. Wade, I need you to check out any data you can find on it."

"_On it."_ Wade said and began doing his research. _"Here we go. It says it was shut down almost a year and a half. But from what I can tell, the place has still been getting power for some time. It looks like someone's pirating power for it."_

"I've got police heading there now, but I want a piece of Corbin first." Kim said to him.

"_Kim, this is too easy. It's almost like someone's trying to lead you to him. This might be a set up."_

"Then I'm fixing to find out." Kim said as she saw the facility up ahead and increased her speed.

What the hell was going on? People were evacuating all over the place. But he didn't hear any alarms going off, no orders being issued. Something wasn't right. Corbin tried to open the door to the office he had been staying in, trying to find out what was going on; but he couldn't. The door was locked and sealed. He kept trying to open it, using as much as his strength as he could. But no matter what he did, the damn thing wouldn't budge. If this thing had a glass door, he'd be able to break through it. But instead, this whole place looked like it came out of Star Trek. He hated high-tech crap.

That's when felt the building shake. Down to its foundation. Either the building had been put on top of an unstable fault line, or something was trying to come in. Either way, it wasn't good. It was time to find out what was happening.

"Someone tell me what's going on out there?" Corbin asked into an intercom, not caring whom he reached.

"_We've been ordered to evacuate the premises, sir. Priority orders from the main office."_

"That back stabbing," Corbin said before the building shook again, worse than a few minutes ago. "What the hell is causing that?!"

"_I don't know, sir. I – Holy crap! Superwoman?"_

"Ah, hell." Corbin said before the wall behind him shattered as the woman of steel made her way in.

"Hello again, slime." Superwoman said as she grabbed Corbin by his shirt and lifted him high above her head.

"You know, we really have to stop meeting like this." Corbin said to her.

"And I should smash your skull in." she said.

"We both know you wouldn't do that." Corbin said with his classic snide grin.

"Maybe." She said as she slammed him down against the metal table in the room, snapping it's legs from under it. "But it's sounding awfully tempting right now." She said as she used her heat vision to melt a hole in the desk top; too close to Corbin's head. "Why did you kidnap the girl?"

"I was feeling lonely?" Corbin said; his grin never wavering. It was time to pull some thing out of Ron's play book.

Still holding him by his shirt collar, Superwoman dragged out of the office and through the hole she had made in the wall. He was protesting the entire time and tried to break away, but she held onto him tightly. When she reached the guard rail, she held Corbin over the steep drop to the floor below.

"I'll ask again. Why did you kidnap the girl?" Superwoman asked.

"If you're trying to scare me, it isn't going to work. The fall won't kill me." Corbin said.

"I'm counting on that."

"Huh?" Corbin asked before she let him go. Corbin fell down to the lower floor and landed on his feet, snapping both of his legs as he did so. As he collapsed into a heap, he saw that part of his broken femur was actually bulging through the skin. It hadn't pierced the flesh, but it looked like it was close. Too damn close for his taste. Did the alien woman finally loose her mind? That's when she felt her grab him by the back of his shirt and lift him upward again.

"WHY?" Superwoman demanded.

"All right! I'm not being paid enough for this. I was hired to find information on Kim Possible. From glancing at a few files, I knew she was one of her friends so I brought her here." Corbin said.

"But why torture?"

"We found out she didn't respond well to drugs. I couldn't risk killing her until I found out what I needed.

"You said 'we,' John. Who hired you?" Superwoman demanded.

"It's,"

* * *

Outside the building, a black stretch limousine had been parked for hours. Hidden behind what was left of a storage warehouse, the car was out of the line of sight of the security cameras and the guards that had been posted there. Half an hour ago, the driver inside the car had called the facility and ordered the evacuation because of a bomb threat. She had been watching the building ever since then, making sure everyone had escaped. She glanced at the small laptop that was next to her and watched the readout data that appeared on the screen.

It had a direct link-up with the security system and sensors inside the facility. She checked the system again after she saw Superwoman barrel through the walls like a hot knife through butter. All readings, including the infra-red sensors, said that there were only two people left inside the facility. She knew just who the remaining two were and smiled. Reaching into the pocket that was in front of her shirt, she gently slid the small black remote out and turned it on. A small green light lit to life to indicate that not only did it have power, but it was also transmitting its signal perfectly. Taking one more glance at the small laptop, her smile grew as she pressed the small button in the remote's center and listened to the facility explode into massive fireball of heat and debris.

She crushed the remote in her hands as small pieces of debris and concrete began to fall against the car as the large plum of pitch black smoke rose into the air from the raging inferno. She closed the laptop and started the car as she took a glance at the burning remains of the facility and began driving away. The problem with John Corbin had been taken care of and, with a little bit of hope, so had their red-headed problem. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't even realize that the car had come to a sudden stop until her forehead slammed down onto the steering wheel. She pressed her hand against her now throbbing forehead as a large lump began to rise. As she glanced upward and looked into her rearview mirror, her brow began to furrow in aggravation.

"Ah, crap." She growled as she felt the car's rear axel ripped from its place and the backend slam down onto the pavement. When the driver's side door was ripped away, she gulped when she saw Superwoman looking at her with her pupils beginning to glow red.

"Hello, Mercy. Let's talk." She said to her.

* * *

"_Miss Gough?"_ the temp buzzed as Sherri was looking over a few remaining contracts that were in the works with other business'. The sooner Mercy came back from her little errand, the better.

"What is it?" she asked, not even looking up from her paperwork.

"_There's a young lady here to see you, and she seems to be rather upset."_

"Tell her I'm busy at the moment and to come back later."

"_I don't think I can ma'am."_ The temp replied.

"Stupid idiot temps. How hard is it to schedule something?" Sherri said as she activated the intercom again. "Why can't you?"

"_Because she just flew to the other side of the building."_

"Oh." She said as the large window behind her shattered into hundreds of shards as the angry super heroine landed behind her.

"SHEGO!" she bellowed as she glared at the older woman.

"You know, some make an appointment if they want to see me. But I guess I can make an exception this time." Sherri said as she turned in her chair to face the angry hero.

"Mercy didn't kill him, is you want to know."

"Kill who?"

"Corbin. He told me who had hired him before your little lap dog tried to blow him to hell. And not just with Monique's kidnapping." Kim said to her.

"And you believe him?" Sherri asked her friend.

"His heart wasn't racing, and his breathing was steady. He wasn't lying, Shego. You paid him to torture Monique? And to expose me to rock?" Superwoman asked her.

"One thing, Kimmie. You don't have any evidence." Sherri said to Kim.

"Mercy is tied up at the blast site, and Corbin isn't dead." Kim said to her.

"I repeat. You don't have any evidence." Sherri said to her. Their conversation wasn't between two friends right now. There wasn't any sign or even the smallest hint of that. This was an argument between Kim and Shego.

"You can't be that,"

"Mercy is a very loyal employee, Kimmie. She might have told you everything, but that's because I wanted her too. And I know about Corbin. Hardly anything happens in this city without me knowing. John is in critical condition with third degree burns over forty-three percent of his body. You might have saved him, but he still got barbecued. I doubt he's in any condition to testify." Sherri said as she stood.

"You – what's happened to you? You tried to k-kill – him. What's?" Kim said as she began to feel weak in the knees and felt a wave of nausea wash over her.

"What's wrong, kitten? Feeling a little sick? Maybe feel like you're going to hurl?" Sherri asked as she walked closer to Superwoman.

"The – the rock?" Kim asked as she braced herself against a wall.

"Not exactly." Sherri said as she held up her left hand to reveal its faint glow. "Remember all those years ago? When I found out about you and kept it from Drakken? Well, I've been curious about you ever since. Mainly, the ship that brought you here." Sherri said as she began to walk around Kim like a shark in the water.

"I was black listed for stealing Drakken's little secret, but I was tired of being evil anyway. But as my company grew, I was able to do a a little more research in you. Mainly, trying to figure out where your ship landed. What an edge I'd have if I got a hold on that gold mine."

"But – the radiation. How?"

"I'm getting to that, Kimmie. You see, all the data I'd collected didn't make any since at first. Then I found that rock that made you so sick. When my lab boys tested it, they found something very interesting. Something that made all the data fall into place like a puzzle. It turns out that you and the rock have a very strong connection." Sherri said, but noticed how Kim could barley look up. Probably not even speak. "The little glowing green rock? It's what's left of the planet you came from. I've decided to call it Kryptonite, after your planet's name."

"T-then whe-where are you hiding it?"

"You haven't figured it out? I thought you were so much smarter Kimmie. Let me tell you a story.

"You see, NASA tracked something the day you came to Earth. Something that was moving so fast, they barley got a picture of it. So they assumed it was a meteor. But shortly after that little object crashed to Earth, a small meteor drifted toward the planet and started entering the atmosphere. Now in our story, a lone comet comes flying past us. It's close to Earth, but not close enough to be pulled in by our gravity. OR at least it would have if it didn't collide with a large chunk of meteor.

"The two crash together, and fuse together. This warps the sucker on many levels, and causes it to crash to Earth. Specifically, on top of the heads of five siblings that were playing in their brand new tree house. The kids all live, but the altered radiation of the meteor begins to change their DNA drastically. One gets strength, another can alter their size, while the two youngest can replicate themselves. But the other sibling, a young girl, get the ability to generate radiation. And if not used properly, it can be very destructive. Imagine how that little girl felt growing up, being labeled a freak of nature and doesn't have any idea how to use those powers? Especially when she gets upset and accidently burns her school down?" Sherri growled as Kim fell into a sitting position.

"Now, here comes the worst part. A piece of the altered meteor wasn't affected by the collision. It's still a pure sample of what the meteor originally was. And this little sucker burrowed itself into the ground not too far from the family home. So in the not too distant future, the mother of these sibling's begin to make a garden in that same spot. At first, nothing happens. But after being exposed to it for years, she finds herself with ovarian cancer and becoming exhausted constantly, even after they remove her uterus.

"Now on her death bed, after the girl has been terrified it was _her_ powers that made her sick, finds out it was that little chunk of meteorite that killed her. You see Kim, it was your ship that satellite tracked and those meteors were brought here in the wake of your ship. It's didn't take me long to figure out your ship must have an advanced propulsion drive." Sherri said to her.

"I-I was a baby. I h-had no c-control – over my ship." Kim moaned.

"It's amazing. I'm not even fully flared up, and it's making you this sick. I know you didn't have any control Kim, but my heart's telling me otherwise. I'm lucky, though. My radiation can't kill humans, but it can make your life a living hell." She said as she began to glow brighter and watched the agony on Kim's face. What was worse, Sherri enjoyed watching her suffer. "Here's another pain. I really did love Lex. I hoped I could finally reclaim some of the dreams I had to give up with him. The dream of being happy, maybe even a family. But I showed him what I was like without the make up on. In all my pale green, glow worm, glory. He immediately began making plans to try and use me as a weapon.

"He stopped loving me the instant I showed him what I was really like. So I took that egotistical for everything he was worth in the divorce, and I made my other dream a reality." She said as she looked at the pain in Kim's face and only thought she wasn't suffering enough. "You ruined my life, Kim. Besides my mother, you were the only person I could ever trust. You were my only real friend. And you were the one that's responsible for making me like this." Sherri growled as her fists ignited and her make up began to melt away.

"Sherri,"

"SHUT UP, KIMMIE!" Sherri shouted at her. "You brought those damn rocks on my head, you killed my mother, and you ruined not just my career as a thief, but you cost me my marriage. I know you didn't mean or directly responsible, but I BLAME YOU FOR ALL OF IT! And I will hate you for the rest of my life, because of it."

"Y-you're – going to – to kill me?" Kim asked as her body felt like it was on fire and she fought back the urge to vomit as the world around her seemed to be spinning.

"No, Kimmie. That would be the easy way out. I know your secret identity, and I know your weakness. And thanks to Corbin, I know everything about your past and I know who you're friends are. I have the power to make your life as much as a living, nightmarish hell as mine was if I want to. So I won't kill you, Kimmie. Instead, I'm going to make you sweat, knowing everything I just told you. At any moment, I could let everything I know slip, or give the name of your friends and family to any of these maniacs you've busted. I wonder what that Lobo character would do if he knew your mother was single?" Sherri asked and enjoyed the anger in Kim's face.

"You do and I'll,"

"You won't do jack shit, Princess. Fear is power, and I'm putting the fear into you. I'm going to enjoy this, Kimmie. Just like the old days. Now," Sherri said as she grabbed Kim by the hair, her hands still glowing, and yanked her to her feet and took her to the open space where her window was. "GET OT OF MY OFFICE!" Sherri shouted as she kicked Kim in the butt and sent her free falling.

Kim fell from the Sherri's office like a rock. She was still so weak from the exposure to Kryptonite radiation that she couldn't control her decent. Her fall soon stopped as she crashed into the concrete sidewalk below and created a crater about two feet deep. A crowd immediately gathered as a very nauseas Superwoman slowly stood to her feet and she grasped her head. The lightheadedness and nausea was going away and she was beginning to feel normal again. As she took a few deep breaths, she looked upwards and glared at the top floor office window where Sherri was still standing and watching.

Kim had hoped that everything she had heard about the seedy deals she had made, the illegal activities she had been involved in, were nothing but rumors. But she knew that most of them, if not all them, were true. Sherri had been one of her closest friends and had saved her life once. Now everything they had was shattered. Even though Sherri had made her true colors known, Kim couldn't help but feel sad about what had happened. Once a villain, always a villain.

"Are you okay, Supergirl?" a woman asked as Kim kept glaring upwards.

"I'm fine, ma'am. And that's Superwoman." Kim said before she took to the air. She needed to let her mom know what had just happened, and then take Diana back to her place. It was going to be tricky having an Amazon here, but she hoped she could do it. At least she still had some friends left. In fact, there was one she needed to talk to later tonight.

* * *

The two pods finished venting the gases that were within them and were now going through the reanimation process. The two beings inside were still alive, but certain procedures were needed in order to restore the tissue back to their normal state. But that wouldn't take long. The cyborg had long finished his task of altering the equipment to suit his needs, and the diagnostic had told him they were fully functioning. So there he sat, waiting. As he heard the loud gasps for air coming from the two beings inside, he let the three dots on his forehead glow brightly to let them know who and what he was.

The first one to rise was the woman as she coughed from having her lungs inflate with air for the first time in years. She supported her weight on the pod as she pulled herself upwards and let her long ebony hair flow. The other being's actions were similar. He was also grasping onto the pod as he tried to support his own weight again. His wide, muscular frame was almost two much for the pod to support. As both beings were learning to use their legs again, the cyborg grasped the clothing the fortress had created for them and tossed it close to the ship. Even though he was a machine, he did not enjoy looking at these beings in the nude. Especially since this organic body of his was having an instinctive reaction at the sight of the nude female.

The female looked at the cyborg with her ice blue eyes for a moment, and confusion was obvious in her face. But once she saw the three glowing dots on his forehead, her mind registered the cyborg's true identity.

"I see Zor-El's program worked." She said as she stepped out of the pod and onto the cold floor, shivering at the temperature. The large man only let out a high pitched growl as he stepped free from the pod.

"It is nice to see you once again as well, Ursa." Brainiac said as he looked at the large male. "Still the strong silent type, Non?" he asked the man, and was rewarded with a deep growl as the male scratched his thick black beard.

"Has Zod been freed?" Ursa asked as she saw the clothing and immediately grabbed the black body suit.

"Not yet. He has instructed me to waken both of you to help me gather the necessary components." Brainiac said.

"Necessary components? Any Kryptonian colony has a device to open a door to the Phantom Zone." Ursa said as she slid the black body suit over her frame, and smiled as she saw Zod's symbol was mounted proudly on her chest.

"That is true, Ursa. But we are not on any Kryptonian colony." Brainiac said to her as Non began putting on his own uniform.

"What are you talking about?" Ursa said as she looked at the area they were standing in. "This is clearly a Kryptonian facility."

"This place may be Kryptonian by design, but it is not a colony world." Brianiac said to her as he began to bring the monitors online.

"Then where are we?" Ursa asked as she walked to the monitors with Non joining her.

"We are on the third planet of the Sol system. A young star, with a culture that's still very primitive by our standards." The cyborg said as he showed them the images their ship's computer took of the planet before it landed.

"Why would Zod send us to this backwatered planet? Why not Argo or Kandor?" Ursa asked.

"Three reasons, Ursa. One, Kandor has been destroyed. Two, I haven't been able to reach Argo for several years. And three, Jor-El's child is here." Brainiac said.

When the cyborg mentioned the Jor-El's name, both turned and looked at the living machine.

"Jor-El? His brat is on this world?" Ursa asked him.

"Yes. He sacrifised himself to let her live. She has been raised among the inhabitants of this world. In fact, this fortress if of Jor-El's design." Bainiac said to her.

"Poetic Justice." Ursa said to herself. "We shall have revenge on the child of our jailer!" Ursa said as she and Non turned an began heading toward the exit.

"WAIT!" Brainiac said, his voice almost deafening. "There are several things you need to know, and you are in no condition to fight Kara Jor-El when she is at full strength. And there are Zod's orders."

"Full strength?"

"If you will actually sit down and listen, I will explain. But until Zod has been freed from the Phantom Zone, you will follow my orders. There is much to be done, and we have very little time. Now, as these humans say, sit down and shut up."

* * *

Kim walked down the stairs and was soon greeted with the familiar settings of the batcave. Just where Wade said he'd be, Ron was sitting in front of the computer and going over several items of a case that were displayed in front of him. She wasn't in uniform, seeing how she wouldn't need it to talk to Ron. Thankfully, neither was he. He was wearing a black turtle neck sweater with the sleeves rolled up to mid forearm, and a pair of old blue jeans. She cleared her throat to make her presence known, but Ron didn't budge. She walked closer to where he was sitting, trying to make her footfalls as loud as she could. He still didn't move. Was he ignoring her on purpose?

"I didn't know you kept that." Ron said, not even turning his head.

"Kept what?"

"The shirt you're wearing is one of my old jersey's. I used to keep a few at them at your house, just in case." He said, still looking at the computer.

"Wade told me what happened with the scarecrow. How are you feeling?" she asked him.

"Lousy." He said as he stood and walked to an area of the cave that looked like it was some sort of crime lab.

"What are you working on now?"

"A WGA promoter was killed not too long ago. I think it might be one of the wrestler's. Mainly one that calls himself Killer Croc." Ron said as he looked into a microscope.

"I've never heard of him. Of course, I don't watch GWA." Kim said.

"We'll, we've both met him before. In fact, he held you and the rest of the cheer squad hostage." Ron said to her.

"Only on person did that. And I don't remember anyone of them named – Gill?" Kim asked him.

"Exposing himself to that concentration of toxic runoff, he was left with a rare skin condition. He's human, but he looks more like a humanoid crocodile. He's known for having a very short fuse in and out of the ring." Ron said.

"Gill? That slime spitting – ECH!" Kim said as she remembered being bound by that giant loogie. "I wanted to also let you know that Monique's safe and sound. I recently took her back to Middleton."

"I know. I tracked you flight path. I also know about John Corbin." Ron said as he took notes.

"Ron, is there anything wrong? You're acting like your mad at me." Kim said to her boyfriend.

"You ran away again, KP." He said to her, standing to his full height.

"I didn't run away."

"I know what happened at the school, Kim. And when J'onn and I tried to help, you turned your back on us. Then you disappeared for two weeks without a trace." Ron said.

"Ron, I didn't plan on that. I was just trying to clear my head, and I was struck by lightning. The next thing I know, I'm on a lost island of women warriors." Kim said to him.

"Themyscira." Ron said to her.

"How did – never mind. Ron, I wasn't trying to disappear. I just needed to calm down." Kim said to him.

"The point is you still ran off." Ron said as he turned to her and threw his notebook onto the table. "When your dad died, you ran off to the North Pole and no one saw you again for seven years. Sven years, Kim."

"I told you, I was trying to learn more about my biological parents!" Kim shouted.

"But you didn't take anything with you that would remind you of us!" Ron shouted back.

"What are you talking about?" Kim asked him.

"You didn't take any pictures of your family, or us, with you. You didn't take any mission gear, all your clothes were brand new, and you didn't even take Pandaroo with you. You left everything that would remind you of your dad. Including anything about the rest of us. If that's not running away, I don't know what is." Ron said to her and turned back to the table and propped his weight on it.

"You're right. Every time I looked at anything, it made me think of dad. And daddy was the one that bought me Pandaroo in the first place, so that's why I didn't take him. Every time I saw it, I saw dad. But it was a chance to learn about who I am, Ron. And I wanted you to go with me, Ron. I wanted you to be with me for every second." Kim said to him, but he still didn't move or even look at her. "But I couldn't hold you back. Ron, you're my best friend. But let's face it, you were always looked upon as my sidekick. I wanted everyone to see what a great person you were. But you couldn't do that if you were with me. And I hated not being with you, Ron. I couldn't stand it." Kim said as a few tears began to fall.

"You're wrong, though. I didn't leave everything about us. I took this jersey with me, and I wore it every time I went to sleep. It was the only thing that I had that could make me feel close to you." She said to him.

She turned to leave him to his work as a few more tears began to make themselves known. That's when she felt his hands clutch her by her arms, turn her around, and kiss her on the lips with her eagerly returning the embrace. Both were holding onto each other for dear life as they didn't want to let their kiss end. They both needed it. They both needed to know that one still needed the other, that they still wanted each other. Even as their kiss ended, they still held each other tightly.

"I'm sorry, Ron." She whispered to him.

"When the scarecrow gassed me, he made me live out the worst moments in my life." He said to her.

"Your parent's death?" she asked him.

"It was at first. But then it made me relive my greatest fear over and over again." He said to her as he held her closer.

"What was it?"

"Loosing you." He said.

As they held each other in the dim light of the batcave, for the first time in so many years, Ron Stoppable began to cry. After holding it in for so long, he finally began to let the pain make itself known. But now, she was there to help him through it; just as he had been for her so many times before.

* * *

Every breath he took seemed to be in agony. There were several thick layers of bandages all over him, hiding the areas of burned flesh and muscle. His lips felt dry as he felt the hose to the life support plugged into the middle of his throat. It was a strange sensation to breath and not feel any air passing through your nose or mouth. His lush head of hair was now gone, showing the pink of his skin before it showed the black edges of where he was burned. Several fingers were missing on one hand, even though he could feel them. He knew that Superwoman had tried to shield him from the blast, but she hadn't been entirely successful. It was hard to do when you were in the middle of the blast.

One eye was completely covered, but one eye opened when he heard footsteps. He hoped it was the nurse with more morphine. His burned chest expanding seemed to cause him nothing but pain. His vision wasn't clear in the eye though. Most of what he saw was fuzzy and people looked like blurs unless they were very close to him. But there was one blur he didn't recognize. It had walked to his bed and seemed to glance at the machines he was hooked up to. That's when the blur took a seat and seemed to be looking at her.

"Don't try to talk, Corbin. I know it must be difficult to even breath right now." The blur said, but he knew that voice. If his other hand wasn't completely bandaged, he'd be balling a fist and trying to belt her one across the mouth. "I wouldn't, John. You wouldn't want an IV to come out. And given the state both your arms are in, I'd think that it would be a living hell for them to put it back in." Sherri said with a smirk.

"B-b-bit." He tried to say, but couldn't get the words out.

"Mercy did this, not me. I didn't have any idea she would take such extreme measures against Superwoman." Sherri said to him, trying to use a soothing voice. "I know you don't believe me. I don't blame you. You're lungs are most likely burned, and you'll be scarred for life if you live through the night. Not to mention, the explosion didn't help your broken legs. You'll be using a cane, if not a walker." Sherri said.

Corbin tried to ignore her, but couldn't. She knew what she said was true. If he lived through this, he'd be a cripple for the rest of his life. Not to mention the Phantom of the Opera looked better than he would. His life and everything he knew were down to the proverbial toilet.

"Look John, I know we haven't been on good terms lately. But I've recently acquired some data that will be most helpful to you."

"Scruu yuu." Corbin somehow managed to say.

"Now Corbin, I wouldn't dismiss it so quickly. What if I told you, that this data showed me a way to give you a new body? One stronger, and better than yours ever was?"

"Bushtt."

"Not bull, Johnny. It would make you stronger and faster than any athlete in this world. Think the Si Million Dollar Man on a much grander scale. And with it, you'd have the ability to beat Superwoman into nothing more but a broken shell of what she once was." Sherri said to him and smiled when she saw the glimmer in his eye. "My people have been working on it day and night, John. It's almost finished. But it just needs someone to operate it. How about it, John? A brand new body to give you power like you've only dreamed?" Sherri asked her.

Corbin quickly shook his head yes. The offer was too good to refuse, and it would be far better than what he was looking forward to when he got out of here. If he got out of here.

"Excellent." Sherri said and turned on her cell phone. "This is Miss Gough. Yes, I'm sad to say he didn't survive." She said as Corbin's eyes went wide at what she was saying into the phone. "Get a surgical team ready at once. We only have a few minutes before the brain is useless." She said and closed her phone. What the hell was going on here? Surgery? Brain? What kind of setup was this? "See you when you wake up, John." She said and turned off the life support machine.


	13. OnLine

Invincible

By FAH3

Central City, midnight.

It looked like everything was the same as it was every night. All quiet, all normal, all boring. The watchmen let out an exasperated sigh as he kept starring at the numerous monitors in front of them, each showing a different pat of the building. It was the same thing every night. Sit and let his butt go numb while being bored to death. He admitted it, he thought it was an easy job. Especially with all the upgrades to the security systems the main office installed. He just didn't count on – well, nothing happening.

That's when he thought he saw something on one of the monitors. It had only been there for a moment, but he wasn't sure. That was odd. That's when he saw something on another monitor on the same floor. It was moving fast, but he had caught a good look at it.

"Hey James, this is Keaton in surveillance." He said into his shoulder mic.

"_This is James. What's up?"_

"Are you on the seventeenth floor yet?"

"_Just stepped off the elevator. Why do you ask?"_

"I just spotted something o two monitors for that floor."

"_Something? What did it look like?"_

"It looked a lot like a – like a girl." He said.

"_A girl, huh? I'll check it out and report back to you. Keep an eye on the monitors and tell me if you see anything else."_

"10-4." Keaton said as he looked at the monitors and saw James already passing into view of one of the cameras. He just hoped the cameras were just on the fritz.

Keaton kept his eyes on every single monitor that was linked to that floor, making sure that Josh was still okay. But if they did have a break-in, how did they get past the security? Sometimes this thing went off if a rat tried to sneak in. Keaton kept his eye glued to the monitor as James approached one of the research labs. When he finally came close, James froze in place. What was wrong with him? Keaton maneuvered the camera to show him the lab entrance and couldn't believe what he saw. It looked like a bulldozer had plowed through the wall. What on Earth could have done that?

"I think we should call the cops in on this one, James." Keaton said into his mic, but received no answer. "James, do you copy? Come on, James. Snap out of it." Keaton said as he turned the camera back to where James had been standing, but didn't see anyone standing there.

"Where did he go?" Keaton asked himself.

As Keaton began to maneuver the camera around the room in a 360 degree angle, he saw something on the floor. As Keaton looked at it, he saw it was one of James' shoes and his flashlight. Did he turn tail and run? He continued to move the camera again, he started to see something else. When he brought the camera to a complete stop, Keaton's jaw hit the floor as his eye's bulged. There was a hole in another wall, half the size as the one made into the lab entrance. But this one was different. Along the edges of the hole, you could see distinct splotches of red. In the next room, Keaton could at least see a pair of sprawled legs wearing navy blue slacks. As they lay in a growing pool of blood, Keaton noticed that they were missing one shoe.

"Oh, God! I've gotta call the cops!" he said as he reached for a phone.

Keaton's hand stopped when he heard a low growl directly behind him. When he turned around to see what it was, he saw a large broad shouldered man with jet-black hair slicked backwards and a thick black beard decorating his face. His was wearing a black bodysuit with a strange metal symbol on his chest that almost looked like some kind of Z. As he looked at the man, he heard him growl at him again.

"T-this I-is p-p-private property." He said to the man before he was shoved into the large wall of monitors. As the electrical systems shorted out, a distinct smell of pork began to rise.

"You were not supposed to kill them." A man said as he emerged from the shadows, wearing a black sweater and slacks with three glowing orbs making a triangle under the skin of his forehead. "You were to make sure they wouldn't be a problem." He said as was rewarded a scowl from the large man.

"They are not a problem when they are dead. Now let's just take what we need and leave. I swear I feel my IQ drop every second I'm among these primitives." Ursa said as she joined Brainiac.

"We are also supposed to make sure no one knows we are here. You and Non still aren't at full power yet, and the last thing we need is Kara Jor-El trying to put a stop our efforts." Brainiac said.

"If the whelp decides to show her face, I'll crush her beneath my heel. How powerful can the brat be?" she asked him.

"Do you remember the files we had on a being known as Lobo?" Brainiac asked Ursa.

"Of course I remember." Ursa said to him.

"Kara fought him to a stand still." Brainiac said to her and was satisfied with her reaction.

Lobo had begun making a name for himself before he decided to destroy his home world. Brainiac had been gathering data about him for their archives, but Zod was using it. He had been debating whether or not to recruit Lobo into in his army and use him as a weapon.

"Now we'll will retrieve what we need and leave. But unless I say otherwise, no more killing." Brainiac said to them before turning and heading back to the lab.

As Brainiac left, Non walked over to his comrade. A small questioning grunt was all he gave as they watched him leave.

"I don't know. The sooner Zod is free, the sooner we'll be rid of this pain." Ursa said. Non gave a lower grunt as he shook his head and drew what looked like an S on his chest. "Jor-El's cur? I have a hard time believing she's as strong as the machine claims she is. But if he's telling the truth, will soon be just as strong and crush her." Ursa said as Non gave a satisfied chuckle.

* * *

Metropolis; the next day.

Sherri was taking a deep breath as the elevator descended into the lower levels of Gough Tower. At the moment, she was now suffering the hang over from a night of binge drinking. Her unique metabolism and body functions prevented her from getting sick with major diseases like cancer and viruses, so she could drink to her heart's delight. But it was still susceptible to a cold. But since her powers and Kim shared an origin, that might have explained how she got sick that first time in years and hasn't since then. A small laugh escaped her throat when she remembered when Kim sneezed on her. She didn't meant to do it. _"Just like with the meteors."_ That's when she gave herself another mental slap for thinking about Kim again. She was doing her best not to think about her.

Of course, she was regretting it now. Ever since her blow up with Kim, she hadn't been able to sleep well at all. She buried herself in her work and so many other things, but it didn't help her any. Every time she thought about that red-headed pain in the ass, she kept remembering their friendship they have. No, she forgot. They didn't have any friendship now, only had. She wished she could quit her mind from nagging her, but she couldn't. She hated remembering how Kim saved her in that car wreck, or how she saved her from that clone, or anything else. She hated her from bring that damn poisoned rock on her head.

But it wasn't like she brought them with her on purpose, did she? Not intentionally. Kim wasn't trying to ruin her life or do anything of the sort. She valued it. At one point, Sherri did too. And why was she thinking about it again? There wasn't any point in it. Kim was a pain and a threat to her organization. That's it, end of story.

If she couldn't get that nagging little voice in the back of her mind to shut up, she'd drown the little bastard. That's why she had been drinking so much more than usual. Trying to make the little bastard die so it wouldn't guilt trip her anymore. But since it was still forcing the memories of her and Kim into her head, she might have to try something stronger tonight.

"Sherri? Are you okay?" Mercy asked her, noticing how her face started to contort in frustration again. It had been happening more and more often lately.

"I'm fine, Mercy. It's just a headache." Sherri said, trying to make her brain be quiet.

"Are you sure? Last night, you barley slept at all."

"Mercy, just drop it." Sherri said to her, not wanting to answer any questions.

"It's about Superwoman again, isn't it? What is it about her that's making you so upset? Are you in love with her?" Mercy asked her. Mercy jumped when Sherri actually punched the stop button on the elevator, causing it to come to a halt.

"Now you listen to me, you nosy little snot. My personal life is my own damn business to worry about and not yours. If I need help with it, I'll ask a shrink and not my assistant." Sherri growled to Mercy.

"But – I thought we – we were," Mercy started to say before Sherri got into her face again.

"I said drop it! If you can't listen to me or handle working for me, I'll find someone else who can do the job better than you ever could!" Sherri said to Mercy.

As she started the elevator again, she could see the hurt that was in Mercy's eyes as she looked downward. Already, Sherri began to kick herself for her reaction. Sherri was always bisexual; she had known it ever since she was fourteen years old. And ever since her divorce with Lex, she just couldn't bring herself to be in bed with another man. Not after Lex had hurt her so much. But Mercy was just somehow different. She didn't know why. She didn't know if it was Mercy's loyalty, her sexuality, or that Mercy could be so ferocious and deadly when she wanted to be. There was just something that had drawn Sherri to her. And with her little fit she threw with Kim the other day, she was the only friend she had left.

"Mercy, I'm sorry. I've just – I've been a drunk bitch." Sherri said bluntly. It wasn't in her nature to always try and sugar coat everything.

"No offence, _ma'am_; but that's the biggest understatement of the year." Mercy said curtly.

"Look, I'll explain after this little visit is over with. Just – I'm a little screwy in the head right now." Sherri said as she pinched her nose.

No sooner had she stopped talking, the elevator came to complete stop and opened its doors. Sherri glanced up into the lab and saw several scientists working at a control panel while several others were working inside a sealed off sterile room while wearing haz-mat suits. A large, thick plexi-glass window allowed her to see the scientists and technicians working around a large body that almost looked like polished silver. The entire body was almost streamlined while still resembling the vision of a robot that most would see in a movie about the future.

There were several monitors around the lab that gave many overhead views of the entire mechanical body as the technicians inside were making sure everything was ready. The skull and chest looked very much like that of a terminator, but was smoother and didn't reveal so many movable parts. In the center of the chest was a circular hatch that was closed at the moment, with what looked like an infinity symbol engraved on it.

"Happerson!" Sherri snapped, and soon saw her lead scientist by her side.

"You're early, Miss Gough. As you can see, we're just running a few more last minute checks before we attempt anything. Right now, a small power supply is keeping the brain inside the skull alive." Happerson said to her.

"What's that thing on his chest?" Sherri asked, pointing the monitor that showed his chest hatch.

"That? It's a mobius strip, ma'am. If we've done everything correctly, we may have found the answer to immortality. I thought it was appropiate." Happerson said.

"That's a big if, Happerson." Sherri said as she walked closer to the window.

"How is his brain still alive in that thing?" Mercy asked.

"In the data we were given on constructing the body, there were also detailed instructions on how to keep living tissue alive. We were able to create a solution that will not only help the body function and move, but it can also supply oxygen to the brain and keep the neurons firing. In fact, I think it may have repaired some damaged brain cells." Happerson said, sounding like a kid that was just given a candy store.

"How long until we can see if he lived through it?" Sherri asked him.

"We can try now, but the current power supply will only last two days, maybe three." He said to his boss.

"I'm in the works on getting a better one. But when can we turn him on?" Sherri asked.

"Well, we could activate him now. But we still need to recheck and make sure – Miss Gough?" Happerson asked as she began walking away from him and Mercy.

Before anyone could say anything, Sherri opened the security door and stepped into the sterile room, contaminating the entire chamber as the technicians began to object. As Sherri walked next to the robot lying on the cold table, she shot anyone who fussed at her a death glare and silencing them immediately. As she looked at the smooth texture of the machine, she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like once they activated him.

"Miss Gough, you just,"

"Activate him, Happerson." Sherri said to him.

"What? Miss Gough, we,"

"Activate him or find another job." Sherri said, not even looking up.

Happerson gave a nod to the techs that sat on the other side of the glass and waited. The techs began typing in data and uploading proper commands and sequences as Sherri kept her eyes fixed on the robot before her. Soon, a small hum could be heard from the machine's chest as the green orbs in the skull's eye sockets began to light up with life. After a small shutter in both orbs closed several times, the eyes began to look around the room. The fingers began to twitch as his limbs began to slightly move about. It was like he was waking up from a deep sleep.

"How do you feel, John?" she asked the machine as it looked at her.

"I – feel tired." he said in a very deep, digital voice. "My voice." he sad as it sat up on the table, bracing itself with its arms. "What's wrong with my voice?"

"Oh, sorry about that. We haven't calibrated it yet." Happerson as he gave a signal to one of the techs at the terminal. "Try say something."

"What do I say?" he asked.

"Anything."

Giving a slight shrug, the machine decided to quote a line from one of his favorite movies. It coughed, like it was clearing its throat, before it began to speak.

"Peach. I could eat a peach for hours." he said, but still sounding low and digital.

"One more time." Happerson said to it.

"Peach. I coooouuuld eat a peeaach for hours." he said and noticed the sudden and abrupt change in its voice. He now sounded exactly as he had before – before? "Something's wrong. I can't remember a few things."

"It may be some disorientation. What's the last thing you remember?" Happerson asked him.

"It was – a red head. A woman in a flowing red cape. I was – telling her something before – everything's fuzzy after that." he said as it tried to think. As it thought, it kept remembering a fireball and pain. So much heat. What was it? A fire? No, an explosion. Then he woke up in the hospital later on. That's when Sherri came in.

"You sadistic bitch! You pulled plug on me!" he said as it turned to face Sherri. "I ought to," he said as it shook a fist, but stopped when it saw his fist. He slowly maneuvered the appendage in front of himself and watched as he slowly uncurled his fingers.

He brought his other hand in front of his face, and saw it was just like the other one. It was the same thing; all metal and machine. It wasn't just his hands, either. It was his arms, his legs, even his chest! Holy crap! This wasn't his body at all!

"What did you do me?" he asked the two women and man in front of her.

"Mr. Corbin, just relax. You've been through a lot recently." Happerson said as he placed a hand on the machine's shoulder. But he began screaming in pain when the machine grabbed his hand and began crushing it.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?" he shouted.

"Remember what I asked you? A new body more powerful than your old one ever was?" Sherri asked him.

"What are you talking about?" he asked her.

"Remember what I said? You were hooked up to a respirator, burned badly, and with legs broken so severely that you wouldn't be able to walk without help. You were more than eager to agree to my offer." She said to him.

"I – remember. I thought you meant artificial limbs, maybe a way to re-grow my skin. Where's a mirror?"

"I don't think,"

"GIVE A ME A DAMN MIRROR!" he said as he stood up, and almost collapsed. If he hadn't grasped onto the metal slab he had been laying on, he would have been nothing but a heap on the floor.

"You have brand new legs, Corbin. It's going to take some getting used to." Sherri said, but noticed that he kept looking at the table he had just been lying on. More to the point, it's reflective surface. As he kept gazing at the reflection, he slowly traced his fingers along the surface of his new face.

"I can't – even – feel anything. It's – so strange. Something in my head is telling me how hard I'm pressing, but I can't feel the metal." It said to itself.

"This is still a new technology, John. My people are still going over everything with a fine tooth comb. I'm sure they'll find a way to change that. You're the pioneer of a new technology." Sherri told him.

"But how am I supposed to go outside like this? I'll be shot at as soon as I step out the door." Corbin said.

"No, you won't. Right now, we're creating a synthetic skin that will look and feel like the real thing. It'll fit over the endoskeleton and it will be sculpted to look like your old body. Once we apply it, no one will think twice about who you are." Sherri said to it while Corbin kept looking at the reflection.

"So what am I made out of? Titanium alloy?"

"No. It's a new alloy that was recently created. It's as thick and light as aluminum, but it's two times stronger than titanium. It's called Metallo." Sherri said to him.

"Metallo, huh?" Corbin asked as it cast one more look at the reflection. "I guess it fits me now. I'm not even a man anymore." John said as he turned away.

"My technicians still need to run a few more tests and make sure everything's functioning correctly. Once the skin's ready, we'll let you do a field test to see if anyone notices." Sherri said to it as she turned and left with Mercy close behind her. "And make sure you get some ice on that hand, Happerson. You're still on the clock." Sherri said as she entered the elevator.

Two technicians helped Happerson remove his blood stained glove and saw several bones piercing the skin. As John looked out the window, he could see his faint reflection again and let out a sigh.

"Metallo. Sounds like a Spam knock off." He said to himself.

* * *

The slap to her face was hard and swift, leaving the stinging pain in her cheek last as she felt her lip split open and blood trickle down her chin. She wiped the blood away with the back of her hand as the armed man in front of her ripped her purse away from her and began to rummage through it.

"So who's the little mouse?" a man in a dark suit asked as he stood behind the several armed men.

The man still stood in the shadows of the cargo hold, so the only thing visible was his mid chest and below it. His voice sounded like it was being disguised though. There was a slight echo to it, like it was coming from a speaker. She wished she could make a few more observations, but that was when the large goon found driver's license.

"You won't believe it, boss. But it's Lois Lane."

"Lois Lane, huh? I was wondering if we'd ever meet." The man in the suit said.

"I didn't know I had a fan in criminal ranks." Lois said as she stood to her feet, and was glad she had only worn a pair of old jeans and an almost worn out black sweater.

"On the contrary, Miss Lane. Because of some of your exposes, I've had to back out of several deals because my benefactors were incarcerated. You're very much an annoyance to my business. I understand there's even a contract on your head in Blüdhaven." The man said to her.

"So what do you do now? Kill me?" Lois asked, not letting these thugs have the pleasure of seeing her scared or beg.

"Actually," the man said as he stepped out of the shadows. His whole head was incased in a sleek mask that looked exactly like a metallic black skull with the eye sockets covered by blood red lenses. "That's exactly the idea. Make sure you dump her overboard when you're done." He said as the five gunmen in front of her cocked their guns and aimed for her.

"Ah, hell." Lois said as she saw their fingers begin to squeeze the trigger.

Lois braced herself and waited for the intense pain she knew that was about to come as these men shot her to death. She cringed as soon as she heard the gunfire start and waited for death, but there wasn't anything. Not even pain. Was this what it was like? That when she noticed something was brushing against her; something that felt like soft cloth. She opened her eyes and saw a redheaded figure standing in front of her, taking the brunt of all the gunfire. A small smile crept onto her face when she saw the gold pentagonal S shield on the back of the crimson red cap the figure was wearing.

"About time you showed up." Lois said to her rescuer.

"Sorry, but traffic was a nightmare. Didn't your partner tell you to be careful with your gun smuggling story?" Superwoman asked her.

"I'm a big girl and," Lois stopped talking when one bullet came to close to her face as it ricocheted off the metal hull. "and I'll listen to her from now on." Lois said.

"I think these guys have had enough fun with their toys." Superwoman said as her eyes began to glow a faint orange. Within seconds, the guns each thug was holding began to glow a faint red, causing their owners to scream in pain and lose their grip. Inhaling deeply, the metropolis marvel unleashed a small burst of wind that sent each of them flying eight feet across the cargo hold while the man in the mask held on to keep from blowing away. As he checked on the condition of his men, he soon found himself lifted into the air by the hero as she glared at him. "Who are you supposed to be? The grim reaper?"

"Actually, the name's Black Mask. And my current employer would like to have a word with you." he said as he produced a cell phone from his pocket.

"Is she on the line?" he asked as he listened in on their conversation as he relaxed by his large pool. "Superwoman? This is Carmine Falcone. I must say, I'm impressed by all your little adventures. I could use someone with your abilities in my organization. Of course, I'd pay you a very nice fee if you were to look the other way when it involves my business. I treat all my employees well. So what do you say?" he asked, but didn't receive any response. "Hello? Hello? Damn cheap cell phones." He said to himself as he slapped the phone he was using a few times.

That's when he noticed a strange sound coming from above. He glanced upward, wondering what it was; and let out a loud scream as he bolted from his chair and ran as fast as he could. He had only gotten a few feet away from his pool when his large yacht landed right in the center of the pool, bow first.

Above the scene, Superwoman hovered with an arm around Lois' waist to keep her from falling. Superwoman chuckled while Lois let out a full gut busting laugh as she saw Carmine moaning and crying about his ruined yacht and his damaged swimming pool.

"You know, he has a house in the mountains." Lois said to the hero.

"Don't tempt me." Superwoman said as she began to fly both her and Lois back home.

As Jimmy tried my navigate himself through the hustle and bustle of the busy City Room, he couldn't help but glance up as he heard the elevator doors open.

"Evening, Miss Lane." Jimmy said before making his way to the dark room, not noticing Lois' appearance.

"Evening, Lois. How was the – dock?" Kim asked as Lois took her seat as she, and several others, noticed the state Lois was in. Her over coat was dirty and had several scratches and holes in it. Her hair was a mess; like she had been standing in a hurricane, and her lower lip had been split open with a bruise forming on the side of her face.

"What happened to you?" Kim asked her.

"A little trouble at the docks. I ran into an ugly black rat. I'll tell you one thing, I'm getting sick and tired of all of Gotham's scum bags trying to move to Metropolis. Let the Batman handle them." Lois said as she began typing.

"Don't you think that's why they're coming here? To get away from the Batman?" Ron Troupe asked as he glanced up from his computer.

"But what I don't understand is why they would rather risk taking on Superwoman instead of Batman?" Jimmy asked as he returned from the dark room, overhearing the conversation.

"I'm afraid it's simple, Jimmy. Stereotypical Sexism. They think because she's a woman, she'll be easier to take on. A pushover. But from what I saw her do tonight, I'd hate to see her on PMS." Lois said as she kept writing.

"Man, that is a scary thought." Ron Troupe said as he got up to get a cup of coffee.

"_And Lois is calling men sexist? I'm not that bad." _Kim thought to herself.

"LANE! POSSIBLE! MY OFFICE!" Perry shouted from his office.

"Sounds like he's on the war path again." Kim said as she and Lois left their desks.

"Trust me, he's in a good mood." Lois said to her.

"How do you know?"

"After all the times I've pissed him off? I found a list he made of reasons to fire me and to keep me on staff." Lois said.

"Which reason did he go with?" Kim asked her.

"He couldn't think of a good place to bury me." Lois said, causing both of them to chuckle as they took a seat in front of the editor's desk.

"First thing's first. Lois, are you okay? Nothing broken?" Perry asked his star reporter.

"Nothing but a bruised ego." Lois said as she winced from her wounded lip.

"Second, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?! SNEAKING ONTO A SHIP THAT YOU KNOW IS TRANSPORTING ILLEAGAL FIREARMS WITH NOTHING BUT A HOPE AND A PRAYER?!" Perry bellowed as the veins in his neck and forehead began to show themselves.

"It's all right, Perry. Superwoman got there in time."

"THAT'S NO GOD DAMN EXCUSE! YOU KEEP THIS UP, AND THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE THERE'LL BE A TIME SHE WON'T BE ABLE TO SAVE YOUR ASS!" Perry shouted and began taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. "There's another reason I wanted you two in here. There have been several thefts from Gough Industries lately. All of it has been stuff from their R & D labs, but they won't say what. I did some digging, and Miss Gough is taking her precious sweet time reporting the thefts. There's something weird going on here, and I don't like it. So I want both of you to handle it." Perry said.

"I don't know, chief. I've got another story I've been working on." Kim said to him.

"It'll have to wait. Possible, I'm sending you to Keystone City. That's where the most recent theft occurred. Lane, I want you to try and figure out what's going on while getting a statement from Miss Gough herself."

"I'm on it." Lane said as she got up and made for the door. "Anything else?"

"Yeah. Go see a doctor about that bruise." Perry said as Lois left and Kim got up. "Hold on, Possible. I'm not through with you yet." Perry said, making Kim stop in her tracks. "Is there a reason you've been passing on stories that have anything to do with Miss Gough?" Perry asked her.

"No reason." Kim said.

"Really? From what Lane's told me, you two are pretty good friends. So what's changed?"

Kim hesitated for a moment before she looked at Perry's face. Sometimes, he almost reminded her of Mr. Barkin. "I – found out she's not the person she used to be." Kim said to him.

"Let me guess. You found some dirt on her, but can't prove it?" Perry asked her.

"More like catching her hand in the cookie jar, and I can't prove it." Kim said to her editor.

"I know it's hard, kid. You think you know a person all your life, and then you find out they're this snake in sheep's clothing." Perry said to her.

"You too?" Kim asked him.

"Yeah, me too. I grew up in Suicide Slum, and had a rough time trying to get out of there. I had only one friend the whole time I was growing up, and I found out that the Slum had gotten to him before his balls even dropped." Perry said as he reflected on some of his old memories.

"Who was he?" Kim asked him.

"Lex Luthor."

"Sherri's ex-husband?" Kim asked him.

"The same. Lex grew up in a building worst than the one I was living in. It turned out his dad, Lionel, had a fortune stashed somewhere; but he wouldn't share it with anyone. Not even Lex's mother. She died of cancer. When she found out, they could have gotten rid of it. But he wouldn't spend anything on her at all, and she died a slow death. Lex hated his father after that. The rage he had towards him was – indescribable." Perry said and paused for a minute.

"What did you mean that the slum had gotten to him?"

"When Lex was eleven and a half, he became friends with a thug named Bruno Manheim. After a few weeks of hanging around him, Lex insured his father for a couple of million dollars. A few days later, the building Lex was living in goes up in flames with Lionel Luthor still inside it.

"Lex went to a few foster homes until he aged out of the system. When he turned eighteen, he not only got the insurance money but the small fortune his father had invested. After he became a wealthy business man, I found out the truth about his father's death. But Lex had swept so much under the rug, there was no way I could prove it."

"And it looks like Sherri's become just as bad as he is." Kim said to herself.

"I can honestly say I'm not surprised. Lex has a way of bringing the worst out in people. The only good thing about their marriage was when Gough took most of it in the divorce settlement." Perry said with a small smile. "Look kid, I know it's rough. But when you took this job, you made a commitment to let the public know the truth. If she's up to something, you have to find a way to let everyone else know." Perry said.

"Okay, chief. When do I leave?"

"There's a plane heading out tomorrow, and I've already booked it. Make sure you show them your press ID so you can get the ticket. I've also got a motel booked for you."

"All right. At least it'll let me visit an old friend while I'm there." Kim said as she got up and left.

* * *

The work was tedious and going slowly. He had underestimated the primitive nature of some of these components, as well as the advancement of the others. It was confusing having to try and surmise which one was what. And the two biological organisms weren't of that much help either. The woman was pacing, growing more and more weary of having to wait inside this moment to a dead world. The lumbering giant on the other hand was keeping himself entertained learning how to use his new found abilities. The cyborg rolled his eyes as he saw the behemoth chuckle as he learned how to use his heat vision. He would have been better off leaving them in their stasis chambers.

"I'm growing sick of this, machine. How much longer will this take?" Ursa demanded.

"If you keep interrupting my work, it will just take longer. I am used to Krypton technology, not Earth tech. Every assumption I make is wrong fifty percent of the time." The cyborg said as he spliced several more wires into the adapter for it to work with the Fortress.

"I'm sick of this." Ursa said as she began walking toward an exit.

"Where are you going?" Brainiac asked her.

"This is a new world, and perfect for molding. I'm going to begin Zod's Empire now." She said to him.

"Non, stop her." The cyborg ordered.

Within seconds, chunks of crystal collapsed from their setting, blocking the exit. Ursa spun with hate filling her eyes, glaring at her comrade in arms as his eyes were still glowing with the energy of his heat vision.

"You traitorous Neanderthal! I should shove your head into your chest for that!" Ursa shouted as she began to levitate. Non's only response was a deep growl.

"_ENOUGH!"_ a ghostly voice roared through out the fortress, echoing off the crystal walls and pillars.

"Z-Zod?" Ursa gasped as the floor still trembled from the announcement.

"_You were awakened to help Brainiac free me from my prison, not argue amongst each other like children!"_

"My lord, I beg your forgiveness. But there is so much we can do to prepare for your arrival. So much,"

"_SILENCE URSA!" _Zod shouted, silencing her at once. _"Do you think me that ignorant? Do you think Brainiac is only working on my freedom? He has been monitoring this world for me. And there is more than one being on this pitiful rock that has the power to stop us!"_

"My Lord, Jor-El's whelp is of no concern." Ursa said.

"_You fool! I was not referring to Kara Jor-El! Have you forgotten the Green Lanterns? Can you assure me that you can defeat a member of the Green Lantern Corp by yourself?"_ Zod demanded, but received no answer. _"You will wait until I am free. Then, when all of our powers are at full strength, WE SHALL ATTACK! Then, and only then, shall we reshape this pitiful excuse for a civilization into a Krypton of our design. I will not tolerate failure of any kind, Ursa. Aid Brainiac in whatever he needs."_ Zod commanded as the transmission faded.

"This isn't over, machine." Ursa said before she disappeared into another part of the fortress.

"We shall see, Ursa." Brainiac said as he returned to his work.

* * *

"How's that case coming?" the lab supervisor asked one of the lab techs as he cleaned his glasses.

"It's what we were afraid of. The perp wiped down the whole car. There isn't one print anywhere." The tech said.

"Damn."

"But I was able to find something else, If this guy drove it one last time, I began thinking. What's the first thing you do in a car, after you buckle up?" the tech asked him.

"I'd adjust the rear view mirror." The man said.

"I do it out of habit and I don't even know it sometimes. So I checked behind the mirror, and found at least two usable prints. The results just came back, and its our scumbag." He said.

"Call the detective, let them know we have a smoking gun for him. Good job, Josh." The man said as he went back to his office.

"I have to admit that I am very impressed." A very familiar voice said behind the tech. A voice he hadn't heard since high school. When he turned around, a smile began to form. "Not bad for an artist." The woman said.

"Kim! I couldn't believe it when I got your call." Josh Mankey said as he stood and gave his old friend a hug.

"It's good to see you too, Josh." Kim said as she returned the hug.

"I have to admit, the glasses make you look good."

"I guess I kept looking at the screen on the Kimmunicator too much." She said. "Are you free for lunch?"

"Sure. Just let me tell my boss."

* * *

"So what are you doing now, Kim? I haven't seen you on the news or anything, so I guess you're still out of the hero business?" Josh asked as they walked to a corner café.

"Sort of. I'm working at the Daily Planet in Metropolis." Kim said.

"Wow. So instead of making news, you're reporting it. I didn't see that coming."

"I guess you can say Ron got me interested when he did his story on Andrena Lynn back in high school.

"Oh, have you heard what your old friend Stoppable is doing now? He's swimming in cash over in Gotham City." Josh said to her.

"I know. We sort of – hooked up again." Kim said with a slight blush as Josh began to laugh.

"Somehow, I am not surprised." Josh said to himself.

"But look at you, though. A CSI?" Kim asked him.

"What can I say? There was just something that attracted me to it. When I graduated from college, Central City gave me the best job offer." Josh said.

"That doesn't sound like the Josh Mankey I knew." Kim said as they took a seat.

"Well, people change Kim. That," Josh said as he removed a velvet box from his pocket. "and it also pays me enough to get that for Tara." Josh said to her.

Kim opened the box and couldn't believe what she saw. A gold ring with a large diamond set into the center of it. She didn't need to use her powers to tell that thing was real. And most likely not cheap.

"Josh, is this what I think it is?" Kim asked him.

"Yeah. I got it a week ago. Now all I need to do is to try and get the nerve to propose to her." Josh said to her. "So what brings you to Central City? It's not as big and busy as Metropolis."

"I'm here to look into that break-in at the Gough Industries building. It's the latest in several." Kim said to him.

"I was working that site." Josh said.

"This is the weird part. Miss Gough is taking her time in reporting the break-ins to the insurance. I know she's rich, but even Gene Simmons throws a fit when he looses any amount of money." Kim said.

"That is a little strange. You know, we're still trying to find any evidence on who did it. But all we've found is a few ripped doors and two dead guards." Josh said to her.

"Really? You think you might be able to get me a look at the crime scene?" Kim asked him.

"I don't know, Kim." Josh said.

"Josh, I'm an investigative reporter. I do this for a living." Kim said to him.

"In other words, you still try to save the day." Josh said with a smirk. "Let me see what I can do. Meet me at the lab later on tonight." Josh said to her.

"All right. And bring an umbrella. I hear a thunder storm is blowing in." Kim said to him as they ordered drinks.

* * *

A thunder storm was an understatement of the massive storm front that had blown into Central City. It was like nature herself had decided to unleash her rage and fury upon the small city, with large gale force winds blowing at almost hurricane force and speeds. Heavy drops of rain came falling onto the ground in a massive blanket of rain. In the CSI lab, Josh was the only one remaining, continuing his work. Even as the lights flickered every so often, he still remained at his task.

"Josh, are you still here?" his boss asked as he came out of his office with umbrella in hand.

"Nope, this is all a holographic illusion." Josh said to his boss.

"Okay, Bill Engvall. Just make sure you shut down the computer when you're done. We don't want to risk loosing any data." He said.

"Don't worry, I'm almost finished." Josh said as he put the remaining experiments and evidence safely away.

"Just double check, Josh. We don't need anymore problems." He said as he began turning off a few lights.

"Anymore? What do you mean anymore?" Josh asked him.

"About two years ago, a cop corrupted some of the evidence we had against a mass murderer. When he got caught, there was a full-blown investigation. Our creditability got shot, and a lot of scumbags walked. I want to make sure that doesn't happen again."

"I understand. I'll make sure the evidence is locked up." Josh said.

"Make sure you do." Josh's boss said as he left.

* * *

Kim was at the City Morgue, trying to find out as much as she could about the two murdered police officers. She had asked several questions about them, but the attendant was keeping himself very tight lipped. Just like in Metropolis, police didn't want to divulge anything about an open case. She knew how important it was to keep everything a secret, but it was also frustrating on her end.

"Is there anything you can tell me about how they were killed? Anything?" Kim asked him one more time.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. But unless I get the say so from the officers in charge., I can't even say if they have a cold." The attendant said to her.

"All right. Thank you for your time." Kim said as she shut off her tape recorder.

As the attendant left, she acted like she was cleaning her glasses off. As soon as the man was out of sight, Kim began to look through the doors on the coolers. She saw a few bodies that looked normal, one missing a limb or two, and some that was too horrible to imagine. That's when she found two bodies that matched the description of the guards. One looked like he had his neck spun a complete one-eighty, and the other looked like he had been through a hall of razors.

There were several slashes and stab wounds of various size, but not clean that you would get with a knife. All of them were jagged and had various depth with each. That's when she noticed the trauma to the center of his chest. If she hadn't known any better, she could have sworn he had been hit with a small cannon ball. But the strangest thing about it was the shape. She couldn't get a good look from that angle, but the shape of it seemed to be strange.

"Everything all right?" the attendant asked her, making her quickly turn her back to him.

"Yeah. Just cleaning my glasses. One smudge and it takes forever to get them clean." Kim said.

"Tell me about it. That's why I had that laser eye surgery." The attendant told her.

"Thanks for your time again." Kim said as she placed her glasses back on her face and left. Maybe Josh had some photos he could show her of what the guards looked like.

* * *

It took Josh almost two hours to make sure everything was safe and secured. All specimens locked and unable to be accessed and all data on the computers saved. Josh glanced down at his watch and saw how late it was. Kim would be here to meet him very shortly. What he was doing was dangerous, but it'd help if they could find any clue that would tell him who had murdered those two guards. He had just finished shutting down the computer when he noticed a few chemicals were left out.

Knowing his boss, he'd be demoted or suspended if he even left a bottle of ketchup out of place. Grabbing them quickly, he made sure they were sealed before placing them back on the shelves they belonged on. He wished they could afford better places to store them, but funding was tight. Josh took one more glance at them, when a loud clap of thunder echoed outside that shook the building before the lights went out.

"I thought lightning came before thunder." Josh said to himself.

Before he could act, a massive bolt of lightning shot through the window of the lab and struck the metal shelves that the chemicals sat upon. Josh's eyes went wide as every single chemical became electrified as the shelf began to fall over. Covering himself with his arms, the shelves landed on top of Josh as he became electrocuted by the energy that was flowing through it. He couldn't even get his screams of pain out as he and the shelf crashed to the floor while he was covered in every single liquid that the shelving once housed.

The combination of the electricity and the effects of the altered chemicals were too much for Josh to handle. It felt like every function of his brain was scrambled. He couldn't move, couldn't think, he almost couldn't even breath.

"JOSH!"

He heard the voice, he knew that much. He just didn't know who it was or where. He didn't even realize the shelf was no longer on him until the electricity began to fade away. He breathing was ragged as he began to feel various limbs shutter and shake involuntarily. He couldn't even open his eyes as he began to feel weightless. He was now feeling cool air surrounding him, and a sense of weightlessness. Many in his state would wonder if they were dying, or wait to see a white light. The last thing Josh thought before he passed out was_ "I wonder if this is what fried chicken feels like?"_

* * *

Kim could only watch as the doctor talked to Tara about Josh's condition. Kim still couldn't believe what she had seen when she had arrived at the lab. She didn't think twice and immediately snapped into action. She didn't even know if she was in uniform when she got the shelf off of him or when she flew here. Kim was actually shaking as she waited on the news about Josh. Shaking. She hadn't been this scared since she lied to Ron and her parents on Halloween so many years ago. Kind of ironic that just like then, Josh was her reason for being so nervous. She had long since lost any romantic feelings for him, but he was still a good friend.

Right now, she only hoped that he was going to be okay. She also kept her eyes on Tara, knowing they had been together for so long. It killed her to see her like this. She just hoped she could help her in any way she could. When she saw Tara leant against a wall as the doctor left, she immediately went to her to see what she could do.

"Is he?" Kim asked her.

"He's stable, thank God." Tara said as the two hugged each other tightly. "They want to keep him for a few days, but they think he may have a few scars from the chemical burns. I can't believe this happened." Tara said.

"If you need any help with the bills,"

"It's okay. We've got insurance. Thanks for being here, Kim." Tara said.

"What are friends for?" Kim said as they took a seat. "Do you need me to get you anything?"

"I could really use a strong cup of coffee." Tara said.

"I'll get some. Right now, I think I could use one to." Kim said as she got up and began walking down the hall. As she did, she took a small ear piece from her pocket and placed in her left ear. Once she reached the snack room and saw there was no one else around, she quickly tapped it. "Can you hear me, Wade?"

"_Loud and clear, Kim. We heard about Josh. How is he?"_

"Stable. I hate to bring up business, but"

"_You've been assigned to the Gough thefts."_ Ron said.

"Yeah. I take it you've been following it too?"

"_We've been keeping an eye on it. When I heard rumors about the two guards death, I started looking into it. I've got the photos Josh took of the crime scene."_

"Thanks, Ron. Send them to my home computer, okay? I'm going to help Tara home, then do a quick fly by of the building. I don't know why, but I'm getting a weird vibe about this." Kim said and deactivated the link.

* * *

"How do you like it, Corbin?"

"I have to admit that it does look convincing. I think it'd even fool me own mum." Corbin said as he looked at the artificial skin that was now covering his robot form. With the exception of the incision of where the opening in his chest was, it was damn near flawless. "But how did you make it look like I'm still breathing?"

"Because you are breathing." Happerson said as he nursed his hand that was now in a cast. "That's one of the ways your internal systems stay cool and don't over heat. Your body breaths in oxygen for your brains and for the cooling systems."

"Amazing." Corbin said as he looked in the mirror again. "Just two things. What about my eyes? They make me look like a space man." He said as he pointed out that there wasn't an iris for his eyes. Just two glowing green dots on eyeballs.

"A simple pair of sunglasses will handle that problem." Sherri said to him.

"What about me being numb? I keep waking up thinking I'm suffocating or something." Corbin said.

"We're still doing research there, I'm afraid. The data wasn't too specific about those areas. But look at it this way, you have all eternity to find an upgrade." Sherry said to him.

"Eternity? What are you talking about?"

"While you were out, we installed your new power source." Sherri said and opened the port in his chest. A puzzled look crossed Corbin's face when he saw the green glow coming from it. "It's a chunk of the rock you used against Superwoman. A Kryptonite heart to give you an added edge." Sherry said to him.

"Kryptonite, huh? I like it." Corbin said with a sadistic smile.

"I'll give you some space to get a feel for your new look. Mercy, you're in charge until I get back." Sherri said as she left.

As Mercy turned her attention back to the lab, she noticed that Happerson was wondering away from his station.

"Sidney? Where are you going?" Mercy asked him.

"It's time for me to take some more pain killers. Tin man there really did a number on me." He said and walked down a near by corridor.

Just one problem though. The men's room was in the other way, and Happerson took his medication right when they came into the lab. Happerson was up to something. She knew Sherri would be on her ass about wondering away from her duties, but she was also in charge of security for Gough industries.

* * *

It was hard for him to do it, but Happerson had managed to get to a phone and placed a call he urgently needed to make. It was either now or never. And the way Miss Gough had been acting, it only he encouraged his actions even more so. His hand was killing him, but he had to bare it. He was lucky they didn't have to amputate.

"_Planet, this is Lane speaking."_

"Miss Lane? It's me."

"_Sidney? What's going on this time?"_

"Something very big. I don't have much time, but Miss Gough's in a deal with some weirdo. He gave us information that is more advanced than anything I've ever seen."

"_Do you think this is why she hasn't reported the thefts so soon?"_

"I'm pretty sure of it. But there's something else. She's built something that can hurt Superwoman. Its power source is called Kryptonite."

"_What?"_

"Kryptonite. It's a piece of where Superwoman's from. She stole it from STAR Labs and it's deadly to Superwoman."

"_Oh my God."_

"Exactly. It's being used for – hello?" Happerson asked as he tapped the phone. But the line was dead. What happened to it? Happerson's throat almost leaped into his throat when the office light came on and he saw Mercy standing in the doorway. And in her hand was the phone line she had just snapped in half.

"I never would have thought the mole was you, Sidney. After all this time." Mercy said to him as she walked closed.

"Sherri's gone mad, Mercy. Don't tell me you haven't noticed. This project of hers, and disregarding everything she's worked for."

"She has her reasons." Mercy said to him.

"She's obsessed with Superwoman! You and I both know – AGGH!" Happerson couldn't say anything else when Mercy firmly jabbed him in his throat. In fact, he couldn't even breathe. He soon found himself choking on his own blood.

"Sherry has her reasons. And don't worry, Sidney. The cops won't ever find your body and link back here. Not unless they look through the crap of all the dogs that's going to eat what's left of you." She said as she watched Sidney choke to death, and smirked when he was laying still on the floor. "Sherri? It's Mercy. I thought I'd let you know that the mole's been taken care of." Mercy said into her radio.

"_Thank you, Mercy. If you come to the office, how about I apologize for my blow up more properly?"_

"Sure, boss." Mercy said with a smirk as she turned off the lights to the office. She had to make a few calls on her way up, but it would be worth it to call in some old favors. Her duty was to Miss Gough, and she would do anything for her. Anything.


	14. Prelude

Invincible

By FAH3

"This doesn't make any sense. A hand print killed him?" Kim asked as she looked at the morgue and crime scene photos of the dead guard from Central City.

"These weren't altered in any way, KP. And he was killed when he was shoved into the computers and monitors. If he hadn't, that blow would have killed him. There was massive internal trauma." Ron said as he put a copy of the coroner's report on a near by desk. "Someone with incredible strength did this, Kim."

"But the only people with that kind of strength is me and Diana." Kim said.

"And when this happened, you were saving an oil tanker, and Diana was in New York. So it has to be someone new." Ron said.

"Just great. That's all I need." Kim said to herself as she flopped into Ron's chair.

"Accepting too many keys to the city?"

"Very funny, Bat boy. It's just everything. Especially with Shego." Kim said.

"Whoa. You haven't called her by that name in a while. What happened?" Ron asked as he noticed the look on Kim's face.

"I found out Sherri isn't who she once was back in Middleton. Do you remember when I was worried about getting sick a while back?"

"J'onn told me about how he rescued you, and when he gave a glowing green rock to STAR Labs." Ron said.

"It turns out that rock is what's left of Krypton. And Shego can generate the radiation it gives off the same way a furnace gives off heat." Kim said to him. She had to stop herself from chuckling when she saw the look on Ron's face. "My ship hauled debris in its wake. One of those pieces of debris collided with the comet that made her family Team Go."

"That explains a lot."

"Do what?" Kim asked as she glared at her boyfriend.

"Don't tell me all that flying rattled your brain. Do you remember every time we fought Drakken? When you started fighting Shego, you started loosing some of your edge. For a while, I thought you had a crush on her." Ron said to her.

"In your dreams, Ron."

"You don't know how many times." Ron joked while Kim raised a questioning eyebrow.

"I've got to get back to Metropolis. Let me know if you find out anything else." Kim said as she stood up.

"Big interview?"

"No. I promised Lois I'd go jogging with her." Kim said as she started climbing up the stairs that led to the mansion.

* * *

It was amazing. No, the better word would be astounding. You couldn't tell that the skin covering him was fake at all. It was almost like he had his old face again too. Everyone he passed as he walked down the street were buying it. Everyone thought he was just another person. But there was still a small problem that kept nagging him. His eyes were still glowing green, but Sherri had been right. A pair of sunglasses was taking care of that. But there was still the numbness. He had something in his head telling him how hard he was gripping something, or how cold or hot it was. But he couldn't actually feel anything. He couldn't even feel the rays of the sun beating down on him, or the breeze blowing through his hair.

It felt good to be out of the lab and in the outside world again. But at the same time, it was all so foreign to him. It was almost like he was seeing the world through a computer game interface with all the data that kept popping up in front of his vision. When he was in the lab, he kept falling over because an image would pop up and he thought he was going to run into it. But at least he had some sensation of breathing though. That seemed his only link left to being – human. Oh God, what had he done? What had he become? A perverted vision of Frankenstein's dream?

"LOOK OUT!" someone shouted, causing Corbin to look up.

As Corbin did, the front end of a taxi smashed into him, causing the front end to crumple against itself like cardboard. Corbin was a little shaky at first.

_"I'm dying! I'm dead!"_ kept echoing over and over in his head.

His eyes were closed tightly, too afraid to open them and see what the crash had done to him. Slowly he remembered his recent change when his HUD display began showing a diagram of his skeleton and disguise, showing that everything was still intact and all of his systems were still functioning.

"Right. I forgot." He said as he opened his eyes and looked down.

The front end of the car almost seemed to have molded around him from the crash. He could see large amounts of smoke and steam rising from under the hood. The components immediately formed a diagram over the hood, compiling all the data together and saw that the engine had been destroyed in the impact. But more importantly, Corbin noticed he didn't feel any kind of pain what so ever. He grasped the front end of the taxi and pushed it away from his body as the people watching covered the ears from the protest of the metal. Corbin pushed it away in one swift movement, sending it down the street until it smashed into a Buick.

"Maybe this isn't so bad after all." He said as he brought up a map of Metropolis and found the location he had been thinking about. "I believe it's time to make a withdrawal." He chuckled to himself and began walking again. "Smiling John Corbin is back in the game."

* * *

Lois stood under the tree, enjoying its shade as she checked her watch again. Kim was supposed to have met her here twenty minutes ago, but there was still no sign of here. As she let out an exasperated sigh, she glared at a passing teenager as he let out a wolf whistle. Of course, a part of her was also proud of the wolf whistle. It meant she was keeping herself in shape.

"If you aren't here in a minute, Middleton, I'm"

"You're what?" Kim asked as she came walking up to Lois.

"About time you – whoa." Lois said as she took a good look at what she was wearing.

Most of the time Lois had seen her writing partner, with the exception of the time she caught her in a robe with her boy toy, she was always in a fashionable business suit. But this time, Kim was wearing a cobalt blue sports bra that left a very flat and firm midsection exposed, with a pair of black jogging shorts that was almost short enough to be underwear, and her hair tied back into a pony tail. The way she was dressed was causing almost everyone's head to turn in the park. A man on a bicycle was looking at her and crashed into a tree off the bike path.

"What brought the sudden change?" Lois asked her.

"Huh?" Kim asked.

"The outfit." Lois said.

"I always jog like this." Kim said as she adjusted her glasses. "Are you going to stand there all day, or are we actually going to jog?" Kim asked her.

"Sure." Lois said as they started down the path. "I have to admit, you not on the clock already seems different than you at work."

"You should have seen me back in high school." Kim said with a chuckle. "So, why did you want me to jog with you anyway?"

"Jogging usually helps me think. And I've also noticed how you've been moping at the office lately. No offence, but you've had a really shitty month."

"Tell me about it." Kim said to herself. "So what do you need to talk about?"

"What makes you think that I need to talk?"

"You just said it helps you think. And if I've found out anything about you, your mind is always on the next big story." Kim said.

"I hate it when you're right." Lois said, faking her anger. "I had an informer inside Gough Industries, but I've lost contact."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. He called me a couple of days ago, telling me Miss Gough was up to something. Then the line went dead. I think he might have been discovered." Lois said.

"Have you tried an other way of contacting him?"

"Of course I have, but nothing. Then I found out that he was reported missing last week."

"Do you think he went into hiding?"

"Kim," Lois started and stopped for a minute, causing Kim to pause and look at her. "You're a good reporter, but you're still naïve. With all the stuff I've dug up on your friend over the years, it's not good. There's a good chance that if he was discovered, he's most likely at the bottom of Hobbs Bay." Lois said to her.

"Don't you think that's a little extreme?"

"I wish it were, Kim. But look at what she did to Corbin. I hate to rain on your parade, but Miss Gough is almost as bad as a crime boss in Gotham." Lois said to her, feeling like a heel at that moment.

"Did your guy say anything specific? Before the line went dead?" Kim asked Lois, trying to avoid the cold slap of reality trying to make itself known again.

"Yeah. He said it involved something that could hurt Superwoman. What was it called? Kypto – Kryp?" she asked herself.

"Kryptonite?" Kim asked as she began to pale.

"Yeah. How did you know what it was called?" Lois asked her.

"Well . ." Kim started, but stopped when the sound of several gunshots began to ring out. "Never a dull moment, is it?"

"Not even for a second. Come on!" Lois said and ran in the direction the shots came from with Kim following close behind her.

* * *

People were running from the bank as fast as they could, screaming in terror as what sounded like a wrecking crew echoed from inside. As Lois and Kim ran to the bank, they saw the terror on the people's faces as they saw two desks thrown out of the large windows and land across the street.

"It looks like they're tossing out everything but the kitchen sink." Lois said to Kim.

That's when the street was rocked as the large circular vault door burst through the glass and stone of the building and crashed on top of a near by taxi, severing the car in half before breaking into the asphalt of the street. Lois and Kim stood there wide eyed for a moment, just gazing at the large door. Soon, another larger, rectangular, vault door flew from the building as if it were a Frisbee and destroyed two trees before breaking into the office building across the street. Kim and Lois could hear the various screams coming from the shattered lobby and could see that the wall had gone through what looked to be several walls.

"Cover me." Lois said as she began to make her way to the bank.

"Lois! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Kim asked her.

"Getting the scoop of the century is what!" Lois said as she darted toward the bank.

"And I just had to pick today to leave my suit back at home." Kim said to herself as she dashed off in a blur.

* * *

Lois kept herself low as she snuck into the bank. The entire place looked like it tried to take on a tornado and lost. She could hear several noises in the back that sounded like they were coming from a destruction derby as she moved deeper and deeper into the bank. As she hid behind one desk, she did her best not to scream as she saw a security guard that had been, literally, folded in half!

As she did her best to calm down, she narrowly missed several deposit boxes hitting her in the head as they flew past her like bullets from a gun. As she slowly peeked over the edge, she saw the wall in the back shatter into rubble as a man in a leather jacket and tattered clothes step through it. A huge grin was spread across his face as he adjusted his sunglasses and slung what looked like a large garbage bag over his shoulder. He was tall and large. The size of this man would most likely make Steel Toe cringe in fear. But what was shocking the most was that she knew that face. It was John Corbin! But he was supposed to be dead.

Corbin began moving toward an emergency exit to the side, but he stopped. Did he forget something? As he slowly turned around, his gaze was fixed on something. What was it? It didn't take her that long for her brain to register that he was looking directly at her! Lois ducked back behind the desk as she tried to control her speeding heart rate. She was hoping that he didn't see her, but she knew how her luck was. Glancing back to the dead guard beside her, she quickly reached over and removed his gun. She just prayed God that this guy kept it loaded.

She let out a loud gasp when she felt a grip stronger than a vice grip clasp the back of her neck and raised her high in the air. She was slowly turned around until she was face to face with Corbin himself as he leered at her.

"Why Miss Lane, it's so good to see you again." He said with a small chuckle.

"Too bad I can't say the same thing." She groaned as she felt his grip squeezing at a very sensitive cluster of nerves. It almost felt like blood had been dammed in her neck and her face was fixing to explode.

"A sharp wit to the end. You should be careful with it, though. You never know when it might cut you." He said as he leaned in and kissed her on the lips. Lois protested as much as she could and tried her best to push him away, but he wouldn't move! It was almost like trying to push a building out of the way. Finally, he backed his head away and allowed her a moment to try and spit his filth away. She was so busy spitting the taste of his kiss out of her mouth, she didn't even noticed the stunned look on his face. "I didn't feel anything." He said to himself as he dropped the bag and looked at his now empty hand. "What did they do to me?" he asked himself.

Corbin's bewilderment was short lived when he heard a gunshot and his sensors began to tell him that something had tried to pierce his disguise. He looked back at Lois Lane and saw her look of bewilderment as she held a smoking gun in her hands.

"T-that should have," she began to say.

"You really shouldn't have done that Miss Lane." Corbin said as he began to tighten his grip on Lois' neck. Lois' eyes began to bulge out more as she started to have trouble breathing. If she could scream at that moment, she would. She never thought it would end like this.

She suddenly felt the pressure disappear as she fell to the floor. After she regained her breath, she looked up and saw that Corbin was gone, but the vault Corbin had exited from had a large hole in the back. After coughing a few times, she got to her feet and began walking to the hole when Superwoman appeared to her at breakneck speed.

"Are you all right, Lois?" she asked the reporter.

"A little soar." Lois said as she rubbed her neck and her eyes began to widen again. "LOOK OUT!" Lois screamed.

Superwoman had turned halfway before she was bashed in the head and sent flying across the bank and halfway through the wall. What was strange was that the side of her head was actually sore. It was like she had a small headache forming as she felt a lump rise. As she looked up, she saw Corbin walking toward her as he shoved Lois out of the way.

"I was hoping to have a rematch with you." He said as he tried to crack his knuckles.

"John Corbin?" Superwoman asked as she stood to her feet. "But you're dead."

"Not hardly." Corbin said as he smashed her in the chin with a right uppercut and sent her flying halfway up the building. She finally stopped her accent after she crashed into several filling cabinets.

Kim was a little unsteady as she regained her balance, and her chin was aching like crazy. What had happened? Corbin had never been strong enough to actually hurt her before. She didn't have long to think about it until she heard the floor beneath her breaking. She spun around in time to see Corbin pulling himself upward, forcing himself through the hole she had created.

"What did you do to yourself?" Superwoman asked him.

"Let's just say," he said as he removed his sunglasses and revealed his glowing green eyes. "I found out I have a heart of stone." He said as he threw a punch at her, only for her to dodge and his fist to go through the floor. "It's going to take more than your little tricks to help you this time, bitch." He said as he stood and bashed her in the chest.

Superwoman soon found herself taking out an entire wall and crashing into the men's room as she took out three urinals and cracking the wall and floor. Besides the pain and sourness, she felt a little weak. Almost sick. What was going on? She soon felt Corbin grasp her by her uniform and lift her high into the air; her head almost touching the ceiling tiles.

"You know, I was always on the receiving end of a swirly when I was growing up. I wonder how it feels to be on the other end." John said as he slammed Superwoman head first into a toilet bowl, shattering the porcelain. Before she could try and get up, John stomped on the top of her head, shoving it through the tiled floor and causing water to begin squirting upward and covering them. "You know, I'm really starting to enjoy this." Corbin said with a chuckle.

"Not for long." Kim said to herself as she leapt to her feet and punched Corbin twice in the abdomen.

Corbin was caught by surprise as he doubled over. His systems were telling him that a few of the hydraulics had sustained damage. Superwoman took advantage at Corbin's surprise as she dropped backward, supporting her weight on her arms, and shoved both feet into Corbin's face! The kick was powerful enough to send Corbin flying across the office floor before he started hopping across the floor like a stone across a pond. Everything was such a blur of motion that Corbin had no idea where he was going until he crashed through the wall and started falling to the ground below.

* * *

"Chief, I'm telling you that it was him! I'm not seeing things, Perry! He tore this place apart with his bare hands!" Lois shouted into her cell phone and heard her editor's response in very loud detail. "Then why don't you come down here yourself, and see it with your own eyes?! It almost looks like a war zone down here!" Lois shouted.

That's when something fell hard into the ground behind her, causing everything to shake slightly. Lois turned to see a large crater in the street as people began to gather to find out what had happened. Slowly, Corbin stood to his feet and rose to full height as a few of the on lookers screamed with terror. When John turned around, Lois gasped at what she saw. Half of his face was completely torn away, revealing a polished metal skull underneath. Part of his shirt was ripped open to show a strange circle with a symbol inside of it.

"Perry, I'll get back to you." Lois said as she dropped her cell phone. "Since when did this become the Terminator?"

John glanced around his surroundings before glancing upward for a brief moment. He looked back to the street and saw a person on a motorcycle about to pass him by. John took a few steps forward before he reached out and grabbed the bike by its front tire; sending its rider flying forward and onto the street. With its engine still going at full speed, John held it as if it were a club and looked upward again. With one swing high up into the air, John struck something with such force that the bike exploded and sending something else crashing into the street almost half a mile away.

Superwoman lay in the street as she clutched her head with her hands. She went diving after Corbin, and then something hit her. She was starting to feel weaker now, and her feelings of being ill were becoming worse.

"You'll have to do better than that, bitch!" Corbin said as he stomped toward her. When Kim saw his face, she gasped in shock.

"Corbin, what did you do to yourself?" she asked as she stood.

"No, I'm not Corbin anymore. He's dead and buried now. There's just me, Metallo!" he said as the circle in his chest opened and exposed the green rock that was powering him. Kim collapsed to her knees in pain as soon as the rock was exposed; causing her to feel like her skin was on fire and her strength to fade.

"Gough. You're the project she was working on." Kim moaned, trying to fight the effects of the radiation.

"Well aren't you the little detective. What a surprise." He said as he loomed over her.

"You'll find I'm full of surprises." Kim said as she buried her hands into the asphalt. Using every once of strength she had, she flew into the air as fast as she could and took a huge chunk of the road with her; causing Metallo to flip head over heels and tumble a few yards backwards.

The sickness was too much for her as her grip went limp and she fell backwards, landing in-between several parked cars. She was doing her best to fight back the vomit that was dangerously close to making itself known as she tried to support herself again.

"It was cute at first, but now you're just pissing me off." Metallo said as he started to walk toward her again with the Kryptonite glowing brighter. Before Kim could react, the glow of the Kryptonite intensified before a beam of pure Kryptonite radiation shot forth from his chest and sent Superwoman screaming onto her back. "Wow. I didn't know I could do that." Metallo said as he glanced down at his opened chest. "I LOVE THIS THING!" he shouted with pure amusement as the Kryptonite began to glow again.

Superwoman had to act quickly and force through the pain and weakness. She felt like every internal organ was trying to leap out of her body and that her skin was burning to a blackened crisp. Grasping the car next to her, she threw it as hard as she could as Metallo fired. The blast bounced off the car as it struck Metallo hard and pinning him to the ground. With a loud roar of anger and frustration, the cyborg threw the car off of him just as Superwoman flew into him at full speed and back into the bank building with an echoing crash.

* * *

Sheri was gasping deeply as the sweat poured down her naked body. Wave after wave of pleasure was rocking her body as she did her best not to shout and scream over and over. She was clutching her sheets so tightly that her nails were tearing through the Egyptian cotton like they were made of tissue paper. She was so close to the edge that she couldn't take it. Just a moment longer was all she needed. Of course, that's when the phone rang.

"Ignore it." Mercy said to her, breathlessly.

"Just shut up and keep going." Sheri said as she kept gasping for breath and bit her lower lip. But the phone kept ringing over and over again, distracting both of them. With a growl of frustration, Sheri rolled away from her lover and almost ripped the phone free from its base. "This had better be worth it." Sheri threatened as she wiped away part of her sweat soaked hair. "What? **WHAT?!**" Sheri screamed.

* * *

The sound of Superwoman and Metallo crashing back into the bank echoed through out the block like a clap of thunder. Sounds of parts of the building being demolished were heard as clear as day as dust and debris came rolling out of the shattered windows and other opening like a fog bank. Various desks and other objects were constantly being thrown from the building as the fight continued as the crowd around the building kept growing larger and larger. The police had to block off the entire city block as the fight continued while various news crews and helicopters arrived; trying to find out what was happening.

"Turpin! HEY TURPIN!" Lois shouted to the officer in charge. After all the run ins she had with him over a story, she would recognize that ugly bowler hat anywhere.

"Jeez, what do you want Lane?" He asked as he saw one of the most annoying thorns in his middle-aged ass.

"Superwoman is probably dying in there. Aren't you going to do anything?" Lois asked him.

"Listen Lane, the M.P.D. isn't equiped to handle something like this. Right now, the best thing we can do is make sure everyone stands clear and non one gets hurt." He said to her.

"That's bull, Turpin! After all the times she's helped this city, you're just going to stand here?!" Lois shouted with several other joining her in protest.

"HEY! EITHER ALL OF YOU CAN BACK OFF OR WE'LL BREAK OUT THE TEAR GAS IF WE HAVE TO!" Turpin shouted to all of them.

"IT'S COMING DOWN!" one of the officers shouted, causing Turpin, Lois, and several other to look at the building.

From the foundation up, the entire thing started to crack and begin to crumble. People began screaming as the police tried to get all of them back as the structure began to shake and somewhat topple. Within minutes, the entire building came tumbling down as a massive debris cloud engulfed everyone. No one moved for countless minutes as the dust began to settle. Many of them were shaking as they looked at what was left of the bank. For some of them, it was almost like they were reliving 9/11 all over again as the police and a few others began slowly making their way toward the massive pile of rubble.

"Superwoman?" Lois asked as she slipped through the police barricades and looked on in fear and horror. "S-superwoman?" Lois asked as one thought crept into her head. One she thought she would never have to think. Was Superwoman dead?

One part of the debris field began to move, forcing some of the rubble upward. A small spark of hope began building in several of the on lookers as the saw it move. Maybe she had survived it after all! But all their hopes were dashed when they saw a large metal robot, with the tattered remains of his face hanging loosely on his metal skull. In his right fist was Superwoman's flowing red cape, with her yellow shield sewed onto the back of it.

"I DID IT! I WON! THE BITCH IS FINALLY DEAD!" Metallo screamed in triumph as he held the cape up high.

"Like hell!" Superwoman screamed as she rose from the rubble and bashed Metallo under his chin and sending him skyward in an arc.

Not even bothering to see where he landed, the Metropolis Marvel collapsed onto her hands and knees as she tried to regain her breath. Lois and another police officer were the first to her side as she tried to catch her breath. Her costume was stained with a rip or two in a few spots. Her nose and lip were both bleeding as a cut along her hairline almost covered half of her face in blood. A large bruise was swollen on the left side of her face, almost forcing her eye closed while she gently clutched her ribs with one arm.

"Are you all right?" the officer asked as her.

"I – I just need – need to get into the sunlight." Superwoman whispered barley loud enough for them to hear.

"Not going to happen." Metallo said as he backhanded the officer away and pushed Lois aside. "There's no way you're winning this one, Superwoman. I've got the ultimate trumph card." He said as his chest opened again, causing Superwoman to scream in pain again. She was so weak no, she could barley even try to resist the Kryptonite radiation. It was unbearable!

"Everyone will know who I am after this! They'll remember me forever after your nothing more but a passig thought. I AM THE SUPERIOR FIGHTER IN THIS! EVERYONE WILL REMEMBER THIS AS THE DAY SUPERWOMAN DI – AAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" Metallo screamed as several thousand volts of electricity began to course through him.

The massive amounts of energy were too much for him as all his sensors began to scramble and tell him everything all at once. A combination of pain and sensory information overload all rolled up into one felt like a massive taser had been shoved into the center of his brain after it had been doused in water. When sudden attack stopped, smoke rose from different parts of his cyborg body as his eyes powered down. Slowly, Metallo fell over end over end until he was laying flat on his face in the rubble. Several men dressed in black riot gear and elaborate taser riffles emerged from a black swat van and immediately began surrounding the fallen cyborg.

"CLEAR!" one shouted as they began putting restraints on the deactivated cyborg and closed his open chest compartment.

"It's about time you guys did something." Lois said as she and several others helped Superwoman to her feet.

"Sorry ma'am. We had to wait for a clear shot." One man said to her. "Al right men, let's move out!" he ordered the other officers as they began to load Metallo into the van.

"Are you all right?" Lois asked Superwoman as she steadied herself.

"I'll be all right. I just need to stay in the sunlight for a little bit." Superwoman said as she knelt down and picked up her cape.

"There's not a scratch on it." Lois said as Superwoman re attached it to her uniform.

"It was a gift from Wonder Woman's people. Supposedly, it's almost as impervious as me. I guess it got a real field test today." She said as she turned to Dan Turpin. "Thanks for keeping the people back, Inspector. I don't know what would've happen if anyone had gotten hurt."

"Well maybe you should think about that before you start your little circus act." Turpin said.

"Give it a rest, Turpin!" Lois said.

"Hell, no! Do you know how much it's going to cost to clean this mess up? Not to mention how many people are out of a job right now? Half this city's problem is you and some of the other costumed isiots out there don't think!"

"You ungrateful," Lois started, but was stopped.

"He's right, Lois. I should have used my head more. It's just as much my fault as Corbin's. I'll help out anyway I can in the clean up and rebuild." Kim said to him. "Just tell your swat team I sad thanks."

"Swat? What do you mean Swat? They never got here." Turpin said.

"What?" Lois asked.

"Someone forced them to a stop and hi-jacked the van. We found them all tied up on the corner of third and Benson." Turpin said as he turned away.

"Then who just ran off with Metal Head?" Lois asked.

* * *

The first thing he saw was nothing but black. He couldn't feel anything and he couldn't see anything. What was going on? Where was he? What happened? There was bright flash before his eyes quickly focused and he saw the large overhead lights above him, and complete diagnostic flashed before his eyes. A diagram of his body appeared before him and zoomed in on his neck with certain areas flashing red. He soon realized that he couldn't move his arms or his legs. Not even his sensors below his head were working. Something was keeping him paralyzed!

"I see you decided to give your body a test drive." Sheri said as she stepped into view.

"Let me up!" Metallo growled in frustrating anger.

"No. I wanted to keep you under wraps, Corbin. That little stunt of yours may have seriously jeopardized this project."

"Like I even care! I had that Super bitch on her knees! Another minute and she'd be dead! I would have done us both a favor!"

"Like hell you would."

"Don't play games with me! I know you want her dead as much as I do." Metallo shouted.

"Corbin, did I ever say that I wanted _her_ dead?" she asked him before turning away from him and faced one of the scientists. "Can we remove the Kryptonite?"

"WHAT?!" Metallo shouted.

"If we do, all his systems will shut down. The back up power cells are fully charged, but I don't know if they'll support him for a long period of time." The young scientist said as she checked her notes.

"Meaning?" Sheri asked.

"It means we'll have to figure out a safe way of removing it without killing him." She said.

"It's simple. You just do – THIS!" Sheri said as she reached her hand into Metallo's open chest cavity and ripped the Kryptonite out in one swift move. Metallo screamed in uncontrollable pain as every system in his body began to short circuit and shut down until his body froze in place as it shut down. "Put this in a safe place until we need it." Sherri said and tossed it to the scientist as she walked away.

"You killed him?" Mercy asked her as they made their way back to the elevator.

"Those power cells in him we'll keep him alive long enough." Sheri said to her.

"But didn't they,"

"Mercy, don't you think I know what I'm doing?" Sheri asked her.

"But why did you make him like that, anyway? Why give him Kryptonite if you don't want him to kill,"

"Think about it." Sheri said as she stopped and turned to her.

"A pop quiz? Are you kidding me?"

"Just try and use your brain." Sheri said to her.

"God damn it, I'm sick of this. Ever since you made that deal with that weirdo, you've been – the weird guy." Mercy said as she began to think. "You don't trust him." She said as they entered the elevator.

"I don't anyone. And it doesn't take a great actor to notice a bad one. That weirdo is planning something, I can smell it."

"And you gave Corbin the body and Kryptonite in case he double crossed you. That guy is the same thing Superwoman is?" Mercy asked her.

"Something like that. But after playing second fiddle to a mad scientist for several years, I've learned how not to screw up a plan." Sherri said as the elevator stopped two floors beneath the lab they were in and the doors opened.

"What is this place?" Mercy asked as they entered the dimly lit room.

"This is where some of my real toys are made. Not even Happerson knew about this place when he was alive." Mercy said as she walked deeper into the lab with Mercy trying to keep up.

"But I don't see how – w-what makes you think Happerson is dead?" Mercy asked her boss.

"I'm not that stupid, Mercy." Was all Sheri said as she stopped in front of a large metal cylinder with several cables, hoses, and machines surrounding it. Standing in front of it was a very skinny man with long unkempt brown hair, a large mustache, and a pair of black goggles covering his eyes. "How's the progress, Dr. Anderson." She asked the man.

"It's coming along quite well, Miss Gough. Very well, indeed." The man said, sounding like a cartoon.

"How much longer will it be before we can see if it's finished?" she asked while glancing at some of the computer read outs.

"Oh, it's finished now, Miss. Yes, fully complete."

"Then show me." Sherri said to the man.

Within a few moments, the man entered his security code, and the metal cylinder opened to reveal a tank filled with green fluid. Mercy gasped when she saw what was inside it. Floating there, nude as the day she was born, was Superwoman herself! There were a few sensors on her body, and a breathing mask covering her face as she floated inside the tank.

"What? How did you?" Mercy started to ask as Sherri stood beside her.

"It's not really her. A few years ago, my old employer was able to make a quick, but highly unstable clone of Superwoman. He had manipulated it first, but it had some very interesting side effects. Out of three clones, two were destroyed and the third went MIA." Sherri said as she looked proudly at the clone.

"So this is a quick clone?"

"Oh, heavens no! I wouldn't dare soil my hands with such – EGH!" Dr. Anderson said as he shook his head.

"You see, my employer was the first one to discover Superwoman's alien origins. Later, I stole the data from him and wiped it from his computers. I gave it to Superwoman eventually. But not before I copied the data into my hard drive." Sherri said with a smirk.

"Then several years ago, the police found a strange substance in an apartment complex that had been occupied by a woman matching Superwoman's description. Miss Gough was able to borrow the substance, and I was ever so delighted to discover that it was the remains of the missing clone." Dr. Anderson said with glee, like a child inside of a toy store. "So using the data from Miss Gough's computers, and a few of my own little inventions, I was able to recreate the clone and correct the imperfection in the DNA structure of the original."

"You cloned a clone?" Mercy asked him.

"Not exactly, Mercy." Sherri said as she stepped closer to the tank. "It's more along the lines of resurrection. And the plus side is, this one won't melt with soda. In case Metallo won't work out the way I want, I'll have this little magnum hiding in the shadows."

"But Kryptonite is deadly to Superwoman." Mercy said.

"Not this one." Sherri said with a grin as she saw the fingers of the being the tank begin to twitch.

* * *

"I knew Shego could be evil when she wanted, but this takes the cake." Ron said as Kim lay on her bed and he gently applied the ice pack to her head. It had already been four days since Kim fought Metallo, and she was still suffering the side effects of it. It seemed that a long exposure to Kryptonite seemed to slow her healing abilities, but they were returning to normal. Most of her wounds were healed, but the bruise still lingered on her cheek. And she still had a headache the size of the Ron's Tumbler.

"Thanks for coming to see me. But what about Gotham?" Kim asked him as she grasped his hand.

"Gotham can survive without me for a bit. Besides, it still has J'onn." Ron said to her. "We're going to have to keep a closer eye on Shego from now on."

"I know, Ron. But what I'm worried about is Metallo. Who took him?" Kim asked.

"I've been following a few leads. One thing I know, it isn't Intergang." Ron said to her.

"You mean that new mob in town?"

"It's hardly new, KP. They've been around for a while, but Manheim was always a small fry. Recently, he's been using some new weapons I've never seen. He's been using them to muscle the others out of his way." Ron said.

"Great." Kim moaned and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened her eyes, she noticed the strange look on his face. "How bad are the weapons?"

"Bad. I've never seen anything like them. This technology that my teams only have in theory." Ron said.

"We'll stop them, Ron. We're Team Possible." She said with a smile.

"We retired Team Possible years ago. How about the World's Finest?" he asked her as he began to lean in closer to her.

"Isn't that stretching it a little?" She asked with a predator like smile.

"I don't think so." Ron said as their lips met and refused to part ways.

Every time they were near each other, it was like they _needed_ to hold each other. The need to be with each other was almost overpowering. For both as they kiss began to grow more and more passionate. Until Kim's answering machine beeped, and the voice following it ruined their mood.

"_Hey Middleton, I think I may have us a lead on our little Metallo story. Get your butt down here before Perry pope a blood vessel."_ Lois said.

"I swear I'm going giver her a lobotomy one of these days." Kim growled in frustration.

"Sounds good to me." Ron said as they sat up. "You know, I'm sponsoring a circus show tomorrow night to raise money for the Gotham Orphan's fund. I bet you can persuade Perry to let you cover it." Ron suggested.

"I don't know, Ron." Kim said as she went into the bathroom, and came out in a business suit within two seconds. "I can't convince Perry to go with all my story ideas. He's already shot down three of them."

"Then I'll place a call." Ron said.

"Ron,"

"KP, you're my girlfriend. If I have to, I'll shove a batarang up Lex Luthor's ass in order to spend time with you." Ron said to her.

"I was fixing to say that I can probably get the day off." Kim said as she put her glasses on.

"Oh. I guess that would make things easier." Ron said as she leaned in and kissed him one more time. "I'll be there tonight." Kim said before she turned and walked out the door.

"A nice night at the circus. What could go wrong?" Ron asked himself as his smile lingered.

* * *

Brainiac stood from his crouched position and took a few steps backwards. He looked at all the gutted machinery he had reworked for several days and frowned. It was so crude. There was no style to it at all. It was all so crude and misshapen. If he hadn't been the one that had built it, even he himself would doubt if it would work. But as long as it was able to accomplish it's task, he would be satisfied.

"Is it finally finished?" Ursa asked him. She was anxious to finally exit this living tombstone to their home world once and for all and never look back.

"Almost. We need one more component." Brainiac said as he scanned the machinery one more time.

"So where in this inbred world do we need to go now?" she asked as Non looked at the machinery in curiosity.

"In the North American cotenant. However, our business partner does not posses the technology, so our presence may be noticed." Brainiac said as he turned to her.

"Just tell us where." She said to him.

"I shall give you the data for you to retrieve it while I handle some other business." Brainiac said as he began walking toward one of the living quarters.

"You're not coming with us?" she asked, but really wasn't disappointed.

"No. You have done this several times before, so you know what to do. Once you retrieve the last component, bring it back here at once." He said as he began to put on a suit. "And remember, Zod has somehow been monitoring us. If you try anything, he will know about it." He said and smiled when he saw the smirk on Ursa's face vanish.

As soon as they were gone, he walked back to the main control panel of the fortress and activated it. After inserting several crystals into different ports in the control panel, a new compartment began to open before him. A dark purple crystal sphere rose from the hole, as well as a strange silver bracelet. He carefully slipped the bracelet over his wrist. Soon, his leader will be free. And soon, Krypton shall be reborn anew. And those who stood in our way would be ground underneath their heels while their bones turned to dust. The Age of Zod was at hand.

_

* * *

_

This is two story ideas I have in mind. The first one I'm going to write, but I'm unsure about the second one.

* * *

In the distant future, Man has found life other than our own.

But instead of peace, it ushered an age of war.

But it is during this time that two will find they have more in common than they ever imagined.

**Enemies because they were taught to be**

**Allies because they had to be**

**Lovers because they dared to be**

From the writer of "Some Wounds Don't Heal" and "Invincible"

**ENEMY MINE**

**By FAH3**

_

* * *

_

My life wasn't simple, but I understood what I was.

_But in an instant, everything I knew was destroyed._

_And now, I have no idea what I am anymore._

_Am I alive? Am I dead? I don't even know anymore. But I know what I have to do._

_The one that hurt the ones I loved are still out there. They're still hurting others while those that enforce the law look away._

_My actions are not only revenge, but Justice._

_Shego is_

**The Crow**

**Angel of Vengeance**


	15. The Return

Invincible

By FAH3

Kim took another brief glance at the newly redecorated room inside Ron's mansion, making sure everything was in place. There wasn't that much in the room so far, just a bad, a dresser, along with a small entertainment center. It looked like it was ready for Ron's new house guest whenever he arrived. But it also made Kim sigh as she couldn't help but feel remorse for the room's new occupant.

A week ago, Ron had taken Kim to see the Circus he sponsored for a charity event. Kim thought Ron would bring his sister along, but he decided he wanted to make it a romantic evening. And everything had gone well. They had raised more than enough for the Orphan's Fund, and everybody was having fun. But that's when something horrible happened. The circus had a famed daredevil act with them known as "The Flying Graysons." They were a family known for performing amazing and wonderful stunts without using a net. But something went wrong. While Mr. and Mrs. Grayson were performing their act, the safety cord they were using snapped. Before Kim could even try to do something, it was too late.

When the police were talking to everyone, they found out that their young son, Richard, had seen a strange man working on the equipment. It turned out the man was a small crime boss named Tony Zuko. He tried to get protection money from the circus' manager, but was rewarded with a punch to the face. Apparently, this was how Zuko got even. Since the police knew the boy was an important witness, they weren't sure where to hide them since Gotham PD still had a few moles in their department. Knowing what the boy was going through, Ron volunteered to take him in. Now they were just waiting.

Kim turned away from the room and tried to calm herself as she undid her bun and redid it. It wouldn't be that much longer until Richard arrived, and Ron wanted all of them to greet Richard when he got here. Kim was going over a check list in her head when she realized that Hanna hadn't been with Ron or Wade. And whenever that happened, something in the mansion would look like a hurricane had plowed through it with Hanna looking like a mess.

"Hanna?" Kim asked as she walked into the child's room, and smiled as she saw the seven-year-old playing with a cuddle buddy on the floor. She was wearing powder blue dress with her long ebony hair tied back into a pony tail as she played with her stuffed doll. She still couldn't believe that the little girl would soon be eight years old. She just wished the reason Kim was here with them today were a happier one. "They're going to be here any minute, Hanna. Are you ready?" she asked the little girl.

"I'm ready, sister." She said as Kim came in and picked up the little girl in her arms.

Hanna had been calling Kim that since she and Ron found each other again. She didn't know how, but the little girl still remembered her in detail. Of course, it shouldn't surprise Kim that much. Not like it did when she and Ron discovered she was some sort of, in Ron's words, a ninja baby.

"What do I say to him?" she asked as they left her room and began to walk down stairs.

"I wish I knew, Hanna. I really did." Kim said to her as they walked into the living room. Kim knew what it was like to loose a father, but only Ron knew what it was like to loose both parents. She just hoped he knew what he was doing. "Remember what we talked about? About keeping your brother's secret?" Kim asked her as they walked out the front door and into the front courtyard.

"I remember." The little girl said as she set her next to Ron.

"Is everything ready?" Ron asked as he stood in the drive way with Wade standing next to him.

"Everything's ready. And Wade put a clock in front of the bat cave entrance. All you have to do is press the bolt that's holding both clock hands together." Kim said to him.

"Good." Ron said to himself.

Kim lowered her glasses down the bridge of her nose, and gazed down the road. She could see at least three police cruisers about half a mile away, and saw their special guest riding in the middle car with Commissioner Gordon.

"They're almost here." Kim said as she pushed her glasses back upward.

"I just hope you know what you're doing, Ron." Wade said to him as he hung in the background.

"So do I." Ron said as the tree cruisers turned into the mansion's driveway.

Soon, all three cruisers were parked alongside the mansion in the circle driveway the officers in the first two cars exited. The two officers in the last cruiser was a tall and fair skinned Latina that looked she should be on the cover of a magazine rather than wearing a badge. The other officer was a tall and very heavyset man. A brown trench coat covered his white shirt that had several various food stains. A pair of navy blue slacks that also had several smaller stains while a badge hung around his neck. A dark brown fedora sat on the top of his uncombed hair while he scratched three days worth of unshaven whiskers on his face.

In the middle cruiser, commission Gordon exited first and stepped aside. The passenger that rode in the car with him was an eight-year-old boy wearing a pair of old blue jeans and a t-shirt that had a picture of a strange red bird on it. Kim just sighed as both Gordon and the commissioner walked to them.

"It's good to see you again, James."

"Same here, Ronald. I can't tell you how thankful we are that you're taking him in. Word on the street is that Zuko has a bunch of his goons looking for the boy; and it was too big of a risk to put him in an orphanage or even a safe house." Gordon said.

"Have you found out where Zuko is hiding?" Ron asked him.

"Not yet. The prick is keeping a low profile, and none of our informants have anything useful. For now, just keep him in doors until we're sure it's safe for him to be outside." Gordon said.

"I understand." Ron said as he knelt down to talk with the boy.

"Welcome to my home, Richard. I hope you like it." Ron said to him.

"Everyone calls me Dick." The boy said as kept looking down at his shoes.

"Okay. Well, everyone calls me Ron." He said with a smirk, but the boy still didn't look up. "We were fixing to have lunch if you're hungry."

"What'cha having?"

"Nacos." Ron said and noticed how the boy seemed to slightly perk up. "I'm guessing you like them." Ron said.

"Yeah, but I haven't had them a lot. We were always on the road." Dick said as his demeanor seem to dim again. "Who are they?" he asked.

"The big guy is my roommate, Wade. The woman there is my girlfriend Kim, and the little squirt there is my sister, Hanna." Ron said as Hanna walked closer to him.

"What's on your shirt?" she asked him.

"It's a Robin. It's what my mom always called me."

"Oh. My brother always calls me a pain in the butt." Hanna said, making the gathered adults chuckle.

"You're weird." Dick said as he looked at Hanna for a moment. "But I like you." He said with a small smile, causing Kim and Ron to look at each other with surprise. It was almost like watching history repeat itself.

"Dick, do you and Hanna want to watch Spongebob?" Kim asked him.

"I like the Fearless Ferret cartoon show." Dick said, causing Hanna to smile broadly.

"Now I really like him." Hanna said as she grabbed him by the hand. "My brother bought me all the episodes on DVD." She said as she pulled him into the house.

"Cool!" Dick said as he eagerly followed her inside.

"I think he'll be just fine." Ron said with a smirk. "And congratulations on the promotion, Jim."

"Thanks, Ron." Gordon said as he climbed back into the cruiser.

"How much you wanna bet that this mook is another Michael Jackson?" the fat cop asked his partner as he climbed into the car.

"Lay off of him, Bullock." The woman said as she climbed into the car and followed the other two cruisers.

"Should I even ask about that guy?" Kim asked Ron as they all headed back inside.

"Detective Harvey Bullock. He's a good cop, but he lacks manners and the ability to chew with his mouth closed. He almost reminds me of a detective you see in those old black and white movies." Ron said.

"And the girl?"

"Detective Montoya. If Jim wasn't already commissioner, I'd try and make sure she got the job." Ron said.

"She's very attractive. I'm surprised you didn't ask her out." Kim said.

"I did. She turned me down flat." Ron said.

"Not into rich playboys?"

"No. She didn't want to cheat on her girlfriend." Ron said and gave Kim a mock glare as she laughed at him. "I'll get even."

"I'd like to see you try." Kim said and purred when she felt his arms wrap around her waist from behind.

"Are you forgetting that one spot I can barley touch that'll make you,"

"Not with the kids near by!" Kim said to him.

"What? I can't say that it'll make you laugh like crazy?" he asked her and grinned as her face began to turn red. "Get your head out of the gutter." He said to her.

* * *

Sheri let out a deep breath as she watched the skyline of the city. She was taking a personal day as she stood there, wearing an open robe an nothing else while she took another gulp from her bottled water. She had gone almost two weeks now without taking a drink, and she was doing her best to fight the urge to break the top off the bottle of burbin she had hidden in her old liquor cabinet. She had been doing her best to occupy her time with either work or sex. Well, she had worked so much that her eyes were fixing to cross, and her thighs were still raw as well as Mercy's. Mercy. What was she going to do about her?

Mercy was one of the best things that happened to her, she would always admit that. And it wasn't just the sex, either. Mercy knew everything about her, and she still cared for her. It was the kind of love and caring she had been looking for. It was like she had been trying to find someone who would accept her like Kim had with their friendship. But there was the dark side to Mercy's love. Mercy had killed for her, and was willing to do anything. She had seen that kind of devotion before, in some of the crooks she used to bust when she was a superhero. The shrinks would call it obsession. She knew if she broke things off with Mercy, she would crack and do something stupid. And she knew too much.

The only blood Shego had on her hands, in her opinion, was pulling the plug on Corbin before he put his brain in that tin can downstairs. But Mercy killed Happerson and used her connections from her old life to dispose of him. What was she going to do? Accept the love of a mad woman, or try and do the right thing again. To try and become the person she used to be.

"Where are you when I need you Kimmie?" she asked herself as she drained her bottle of water.

"It is strange. Your species, as well as the Kryptonian race, rather enjoy looking at a horizon. I don't see how it makes either race better enable your thought process." Brainiac said as he stepped into the office.

"I guess it's an organic thing." Sherri said as she closed her robe and tied it off.

"Most likely." Brainiac said as he took a seat.

"So did all that information on Kimmie help you out?" Sherri asked him.

"It did, and I thank you. I also noticed the data I supplied you has also worked out. Of course, I wouldn't have picked such an unstable brain to be used as a prototype." Brainiac said to her.

"It was the only one available at the time." Sherri said as she trashed her empty bottle and retrieved a fresh one. "Care for anything to drink?"

"No. This body has already had its limit of nourishment. Besides, I won't require much longer." The machine said.

"So what brings you by here if you've got everything you need?"

"Actually, I don't. There is one more piece of equipment I need, but you don't have it."

"So why come by here?" she asked him.

"The reason is that you have some knowledge of who does have it. What can you tell me about Cadmus Labs?" he asked her.

Sherri froze in place as soon as he said that name. She had kept a close eye on the government hell hole, and it was the last thing she ever wanted to here. Her eyes narrowed as she began to sip her water slowly.

"Cadmus doesn't have anything worth looking into." She said to the machine in front of him.

"There's no need to lie to me, Miss Gough. From your body language and your accelerated heart rate, I know it bothers you and you know something about it." It said.

"And I also know the equipment you've been borrowing doesn't have anything to do with building a communications device. As the old saying goes, 'Don't bullshit a bullshiter.'" She said to him.

"Indeed. You are correct as well. My needs have nothing to do with creating a transmitter. As we speak, my needs are already being met. And the only Kryptonians left alive are on this planet. All three of them. Well, soon to be four." The machine said.

"Four?"

"Really Miss Gough, you should have looked at the gift more closely. Especially the fine print." He said with a very sadistic smile.

"I don't know what you're planning tin man, but I can tell you this right now. It isn't going to work." Sherri said as a balled fist beneath her desk began to ignite.

"And your race thinks to highly of itself. I'm not stupid enough to trust such a feeble bunch of knuckle draggers such as yourself." He said as the three circles under his forehead began to glow.

The skin of his forehead began to split, almost like a giant eyelid opening for the first time and revealed the metal skull underneath. Three green orbs that looked like they had been molded into a highly polished silver setting. Sherri raised her blazing hand and fired a large wave of emerald energy at the alien machine in front of her, trying to burn it into cinders. But the machine was too fast; anticipating her course of action. Like the Death Star from Star Wars, the energy from the three lights came together at one point before firing a solid blast of energy, knocking her off of her feet and hitting one of the large windows, cracking the glass.

Sherri slowly sunk to the ground as she felt the wind knocked out of her. She saw the machine standing in lace, grinning as the three green lights kept glowing. She raised her arm to fire another blast of energy, but nothing happened. As she looked at her hand, she was shocked to see her pale green skin fading to a normal pink.

"It was a nanite payload, Miss Gough. Your powers aren't gone, just suppressed until I say so. Also, you'll find that you have no use of your legs until the nanites have disengaged."

"YOU BASTARD!" she shouted.

"I'd watch the language if I were you. Besides, you should be proud. You've helped me bring your planets new Emperor into power. And he will need a concubine since he already has claimed a mate." Brainiac said.

"Go to hell!" Sherri growled.

"I think not. From this moment onward, the world as you know it will cease to exist as a grand vision of Krypton is reborn on your planet and ruled by a true Superman." Brainiac said as the skin of his forehead closed and sealed itself while the three lights in his head dimmed.

"Mercy! MERCY!" Sherri screamed, trying to gain her assistant's attention as the living computer stopped at her computer and retrieved a purple crystal sphere.

"Give my regards to oblivion." The computer said as he held the sphere over the computer.

The sphere began to glow with an inner light as he let it go, and saw the device hover by itself as a small hum began to emit from it. The orb began to slowly spin and quickly gained speed. Small sparks of purple electricity began shoot from the orb over the computer terminal as it began to spin faster and faster. That's when what appeared to be a purple shockwave emitted from the sphere as a small beam of energy shot into the computer, causing various data in the computer's main data core to be displayed. After seconds of this, the monitor went blank. Slowly, what appeared to be a strange alien design of the letter Z appeared on the monitor and stayed.

"The virus will start in your systems, and branch outwards. Within days, your systems will be slave to Zod." Brainiac said as he retrieved the orb and his it back in his coat pocket. With one more smile, he turned and left.

"Mercy? Mercy, where are you?! MERCY!" Sherri shouted as she pulled herself along her office floor, trying in vain to make her legs work. "MERCY!" she shouted again as Brainiac looked at the desk where her assistant would sit. Sprawled, almost lifeless, was Mercy. She was slumped against the wall as blood trickled down her face from an open head wound with a small trail of blood falling from the corner of her painted red lips. With one more chuckle, Brainiac left as Sherri kept shouting for her assistant to help her.

Cadmus wasn't the real location of the last device, but he wanted information about Cadmus. With all the rumors circling the so called internet, it sounded as they may be a larger threat to Zod. However, Cadmus could wait. Soon, his leader would be free, and the world will collapse to his vision. Once Zod was at full power, nothing could stop him. All hail Zod.

* * *

J'onn was sitting in a recliner at his Gotham apartment as he ate a bag of Oreo's. J'onn was never an addict on anything on his home world of Mars, and was proud of it. But ever since he was stranded on this world, he found himself hopelessly in love with these chocolate and cream desserts. As he retrieved another one from the bag, he reached over and dipped it into an open jar of chunky peanut butter before consuming it. The one thing he loved about this world was some of the food they could create.

As he flipped through his usual newspaper, he quickly sat up and gasped as several minds echo into his own. He gasped as he tried to sort out all the thoughts he had just discovered, dropping his paper and his cookies as he stood up. One mind wasn't that far, maybe in Metropolis. It was filled with such anger, outrage, and humiliation that it was almost unbelievable. There were two others, far from Gotham. He couldn't read their minds

though; their thoughts were shielded by strong mental discipline. But what he could sense wasn't anything good at all. But there wasn't something he could read from them, and that was something very dangerous.

"Someone's coming." He said to himself.

* * *

Deep inside the caverns underneath Ron Stoppable's mansion, Wade was busy trying to put in several more upgrades to the Tumbler. It wasn't easy, but they were essential. The way Ron drove this thing, it was only a matter of time until he totaled the damn thing. He already had a second one under construction, but he needed to make sure the upgrades would work before he continued with the second tumbler's construction.

"_Oracle."_ Batman said over the open intercom. Wade put down the computer pad he had been using and rubbed his sleep deprived eyes as he walked to the main computer and activated his end of the intercom.

"Oracle here. How's the Wing working out, Batman?"

"_I need to know if you've received any other information about the Gough Industries thefts."_

"So far, nothing yet. I was able to retrieve some of the recorded footage that wasn't destroyed with the surveillance system in Central City."

"_Anything interesting?"_

"There was something on there. There was a strange blur that walked into frame, so I'm having the computer slow it down and sharpening the image."

"_How long until it's ready?"_

"Maybe another hour or two." Wade said.

"_Let me know when you have something."_ Batman said and cut the transmission.

"The so called glorious life of a superhero. Sometimes I'm glad I stay behind the scenes." Wade said as he picked up his computer pad again.

As soon as he picked it up, he heard a small beeping coming from the control console of both the computer and the Tumbler. An emergency transmission? Who could that be? Hopefully, Kim wasn't in trouble.

"Oracle." Wade said.

"_Uncle Wade?"_ Hanna said, sounding very weird.

"Hanna, I've told you this is an emergency channel. Did you have another nightmare?" he asked her.

"_No. Dick's gone!"_

"Do what?" Wade asked her.

"_I went to see if he needed a drink of water, and he wasn't in his bed! And the window's open!" _Hanna said to him very urgently

Wade worked his magic over the main computer's console and activated the security cameras inside the mansion. As he called up Dick's room, he saw nothing but an empty bed. He called up the external cameras and zoomed it to Dick's window, and saw what looked like a bed sheet rope hanging outside it.

"Oh, crap!" Wade said as he went back to the emergency channel. "Hanna, get to bed. I'll let Ron know what's happened so he can find him." Wade said to her.

"_Don't let my big brother be mad at him. I already am!"_ Hanna said.

"Okay, Hanna. Just get to bed." Wade said and reactivated the comm. Link to the new wing Batman was currently flying over the city. "Batman, it's Oracle."

"_Dick's run away."_ He said in his ruff voice.

"How did you – never mind. We've got to find him!" Wade said.

"_I may have an idea where he is. I'll let you know."_ Batman said and cut the transmission.

"What was Ron thinking with that kid?" Wade asked himself as he flopped down into the chair Ron normally sat in. "I've got to get those upgrades done, and our new guest flew the coop. God, what else can you throw at me?" Wade asked himself.

He slowly looked up when the main monitor began beeping again. He looked and saw that it detected something foreign flying over Gotham air space. As he saw the alert, he slowly groaned to himself. "I just had to ask, didn't I?" he asked as he started looking at the data. He was about to dismiss it at first glance until he noticed something. Something very strange at what he was looking at. "What the hell?" he asked himself.

* * *

Kim enjoyed days like this. It was just nothing but peace and quiet over Metropolis as she flew over the busy city below her. She could hear incidents occurring all over, but so far; none of them were sever enough that required her attention. How she just enjoyed gliding on the wind, and maybe flying into a cloud or two. As she doubled back to make one more sweep of the city, she happened to notice that one of the windows at Gough Tower were cracked. She was tempted to go see if everything was all right, but she stopped herself. Knowing Shego, she was throwing another temper tantrum.

"She can take care of herself." She said to herself as she flew past Gough Tower and started making her way back to the Daily Planet.

"_Kim!"_

"Oracle? You know better than to use my,"

"_Get here now!"_ Wade practically yelled.

"Oracle, what is it?" Kim asked.

"_Just get to the Bat Cave now!"_ Wade said before cutting the transmission.

"Sometimes, I regret him putting that transmitter in my belt." Kim said to herself as she adjusted course and started making a B-Line to Gotham City.

* * *

"Have you retrieved it?" Brainiac asked as he entered the fortress, and saw Ursa and Non sitting against the space craft that had brought them all here.

"It's beside the rest of your – mess. I don't see why you need it in the first place." Ursa said and pointed to the new machine.

"My dear Ursa, this will be our adapter." Brainiac said as he removed the coat and shirt, and the skin of his arms began to split open to let several mechanical tentacles extend.

"Adapter?" Ursa asked as Non looked on in question. "What do you mean adapter?" she asked the living computer as it began to disassemble and reassemble the new machine.

"These apes haven't constructed a strong enough power source for this machine to use, and the power cells in the fortress would be drained too soon. But with the combined power of the fortress and our starship, I can successfully open a portal to the Phantom Zone and free Zod." He said as he began to work faster.

"How long will it be until it's ready?" Ursa asked, anxious after hearing Brainiac words.

"It will take a few hours, Ursa." Brainiac said and continued working.

"Then let these humans enjoy their last breath of freedom." Ursa said with sadistic glee.

* * *

It wasn't long until Kim flew through the waterfall that fell from the cliff behind Ron's mansion. She slowed her speed down as she followed the runway for the tumbler and landed next the tumbler as a few panels had been loosened and some wires were pulled out and exposed.

"Doing some remodeling?" Kim asked as she saw Ron sitting at the main computer with Wade standing next to him. When Wade stepped aside, she was shocked to see a very wet eight year-old boy standing next to Ron, with a thick blanket wrapped around him.

"Dick?" she asked aloud.

"Superwoman?! Wow! You really know Superwoman, Ron?" he asked. It was then Kim noticed that the cowl had been pulled backward while Ron still wore his bat-suit.

"Should I even ask?" she said as she stepped closer to Ron.

"No." he growled, still partially using his bat voice. Something serious was going on. "Wade discovered something very interesting earlier." Ron said as he began calling various pieces of data up.

"I almost didn't notice it myself." Wade said, a little embarrassed at his mistake. While the others talked, Dick was looking more and more at Superwoman. He lifted his hand upward, blocking part of Superwoman's hair from his POV so it would seem like her hair was shorter. As he looked, a loud gasp escaped his lips.

"KIM?! Kim, you're Superwoman?! Ron, you're boinking Superwoman?" Dick practically shouted, causing Kim to blush slightly.

"We'll talk about this later." Ron said, causing Dick to gulp.

"What did you guys find?" Kim asked, trying to change the subject.

"Wade discovered a speed trail over Gotham City. Normally, only certain types of aircraft cause this when they break the sound barrier." Ron said.

"But all known aircraft can't travel the speed the computer recorded. I thought it was you buzzing by Gotham, until I noticed something." Wade said as Ron typed in a few commands, and the computer zoomed in on the Arial image of Gotham while the speed trail was highlighted. When the computer was done zooming, Kim's eyes grew wide at what she saw. "There are two speed trails. They were trying to fly together and hide the separate trail. Whatever this is, they knew someone was watching them." Wade said.

"And Wade was able to retrieve an image from the surveillance footage from Central City." Ron said as he called up the frozen image Wade had captured.

The picture loaded, but it was still somewhat fuzzy. Every two seconds, the picture was coming more and more into focus. As the image began to sharpen more, Kim could see the shape of a woman. There was something familiar about her though. Something about the clothes she was wearing. She just couldn't remember how or where. Soon, the image was becoming more and more clear. As it did, Kim's eyes started growing wider with each passing second. She had seen that woman before. She knew who she was. Her father had told her about her. Jor-El warned her, and she didn't listen.

"They're here." She whispered.

"I've never sent the woman before. And there's no record of her anywhere." Ron said.

"W-where were the speed trails going?" Kim asked.

"I was able to find several others. The computer keeps a record of them. I just can't believe I never noticed. But it looks like they were all heading North." Wade said.

"North?" Ron asked him.

"The Fortress!" Kim said.

Before Ron or Wade could ask her anything, she was flying out of the cave faster than a bat out of hell. Kim was pouring on the speed as she flew over the small patch of woods, and over Gotham City, climbing higher and higher up. She couldn't believe she had been so blind. She should have checked on the Fortress more often. Jor-El must be spinning in his grave right about now! She had to get to the fortress as fast as she could. Whatever they were doing with that equipment, it couldn't be good!

* * *

The tentacles retracted back into his arms as the skin slowly sealed itself. He flexed his fingers before carefully grasping the reconfigured machine before him, almost patting himself on the back at what he had created. He didn't know why he was doing it, but a small chuckle kept escaping his throat. The more time he spent in this organic body, the more changes his program kept encountering. The sooner he was his normal machine self, the better it would be. He was sick of living this human condition.

"What are you waiting for, Brainiac?" Ursa demanded.

"It would appear that I'm savoring the moment." He said.

"Then stop savoring, and get to work! Bring back Zod!" Ursa shouted to him.

"That's what I plan to do, but not because you told me to." Brainiac said and walked to a small space in between the ship and one end of the assembled machinery.

A small crystal platform rose from the ground and stopped at Brainiac's chest. Slowly, the machine set it on the pedestal and connected it to the crystal adapters that were on the pedestal. The small machine soon began to hum with life as the circuitry became active within it. The skin on his forehead peeled back once again as cables from the three glowing lights connected the small machine. After he preformed a small diagnostic, the skin on his chest opened wide, as did the skin on his shoulders and forearms. A strange metal ribcage, surrounded by bleeding red muscle tissue and other organs extended outward, and connected itself to the crystal pedestal. Tentacles from his opened shoulders and forearms extended. His left side connected with the massive machinery he had created while his left side connected into the ship. Soon, both devices were humming with life as Brainiac preformed a systems check.

"What are you doing?" Ursa asked him.

"Bringing Zod back. Now stand back; I'm activating the Phantom Zone Projector." Brainiac said as the crystals in the fortress dimmed before several of the larger ones began to glow with bright light as the ship and machinery began generating power.

* * *

Kim was now flying over the ocean as a sonic boom echoed in her wake. She could see the water rising high into the air as she tried to fly faster North. She sped by several small vessel, almost causing them to capsize as she flew North. She had to get there before they tried anything. She focused her eyes, but she was still too far to see anything. She tried to push her self more, but only gained slightly more speed.

She could feel the cold air trying to bite into her skin while parts of her uniform struggled to stay on her and resist the friction of the speed she was going. The fortress was the only thing, the only connection; she had to her home planet and to her real parents. If that fortress was destroyed, everything about Krypton would be destroyed. All their history and technology would be lost. She focused her eyes again, trying to see the fortress. She almost missed it, though. The once radiant inner light had now drastically dimmed. What was going on in there? That's when she could almost swear she saw light flashing from inside the fortress, like a strobe light. She had to get there now!

* * *

The light of the crystals were growing brighter and brighter, while the machines and the ship were protesting from the strain. They couldn't take much more of this. How long would it take to find Zod?

"Brainiac?"

"I'VE LOCATED HIM! I'M BRINGING HIM IN NOW!" the machine shouted as energy from the crystals joined together and began forming a portal.

In the middle of the circle the machines formed, two glowing white rings of energy formed and began rotating. It almost looked like the two rings were joined at one end as the portal opened. Soon, a strange ghost like being came through the portal and landed in the middle of the rings. The rings began spinning faster and faster while the crude mish mosh of parts began to form an energy field around the energy phantom. Once the field was generated, the phantom began to scream in utter agony.

"YOU'RE KILLING HIM!" Ursa shouted.

"No, he's reconstituting. Four more minutes until the process is complete!" Brainiac shouted over the wail of the phantom while the machinery began to smoke.

The phantom's screams kept growing louder and louder in volume with each passing minute. The rings were spinning so fast now; they almost looked solid while the Phantom clutched its screaming head in pain. Soon, the phantom began to glow with bright light as its shape began to shift and change. It was starting to look less like a ghost, and more like a man. The phantom looked upward as it let out another ear piercing scream that soon sounded more like a the scream of a man. In a bright blast of bright light, the machinery exploded and shut down as the stress became too much for them.

The ship that had brought the three beings to Earth began emitting sounds, similar to a car backfiring as section fell off of it and onto the fortress floor. All the lights in the fortress went out for a few seconds before they all were alight with the power levels returned to normal. And in the middle of the smoking pile of what was now scrap metal, sat a man on his hands and knees as he was taking very deep breath of air. Both Ursa and Non were slowly walking toward the man, unsure of what to say or do while Brainiac retracted all of his machinery back into his body. Soon, the man stood to his knees as he began to groan loudly from not being in his physical form for so long.

"I can breathe again." He said to himself. "I can feel. I can stand." He said as he kept inhaling deep breaths of air. "I LIVE AGAIN!" he shouted triumphantly his voice echoing all across the massive Fortress of Solitude.

"Zod? Is it really you?" Ursa asked as a small tear rolled down her cheek.

The man finally turned towards them, looking exactly the same as he did so many years ago. A broad smile was on his face as he saw Ursa as his silver armor almost seemed to glow in the light of the fortress. To Ursa, it almost seemed unreal, more like a dream than anything else.

"It is me, my Beloved." He said to her.

Within moments, Ursa had her arms wrapped around the newly formed man as their lips pressed together in a passionate embrace. It had been so long since either had tasted the lips of their mate, feeling their heartbeats almost beating as one as they felt their embrace once more. Slowly, their kiss broke as they gazed into each others eyes.

"It is you." She said, her smile almost as wide as his.

"Non, my second. It is good to see you too." He said as he saw the giant Kryptonian bow to one knee. "And you, Brainiac, have served me well."

"Thank you, my Lord." Brainiac said and bowed to Zod as the skin of his body healed itself instantly.

Zod looked at the marvel of the fortress around him, almost unable to believe that Jor-El could create such a marvel. As he looked, his gaze fell to the entrance as his face turned into a look of surprise. Soon, Ursa, Non, and Brainiac followed his gaze and were surprised to see what Zod saw. At the entrance to the Fortress, wearing the shield of the House of El on her chest, was none other than Superwoman herself.

"Zod?" she asked, unable to believe the spectacle she had just witnessed. The whole ordeal seemed so unreal to her.

"It is good to see you again, my Goddaughter. You have your father's eyes, but you look so much like you're mother." Zod said as he marveled at Kim.

"This is unreal." Kim said again, still not believing what she was seeing.

"Believe it, whelp!" Ursa said as she began stomping toward Kim.

"Ursa, this is her home. We are but guests here." Zod said as he walked toward Kim and was able to talk to her face to face. Kim was so confused and nervous at the same time, she didn't know what to do. "The last I saw of you, Kara, you were but a new born in your mother's arms." He said to her.

"What do you want, Zod?" she asked him.

"The same as anyone else in my position would want. Revenge." He said gravely.

"Revenge?" Kim asked, confused by his answer.

"You're father condemned to an eternity in a living hell. I was unable to eat, to breath, barely living. Instead of standing beside me, he stood against me while Krypton fell into ruin." He said to her.

"Ruin? You tried to conquer Krypton, and killed anyone who got in the way!"

"I see your father has been telling his point of view of history." Zod said to himself. "I tried to save Krypton from falling into the grips of self absorbed bureaucrats that would have let the planet fall into disarray while they satisfied their lust for greed." Zod said to her.

"But you destroyed Krypton!" Kim shouted at him.

"With me failing to stop the council, there was no hope left for Krypton. But now, there is hope for this primitive world."

"What do you mean?"

"Think, Kara. You are no longer the last Kryptonian. Krypton can live again, on Earth. Take the place your father should have stood, and help me forge this world a new. A world without war, without poverty, and where the greedy will never oppress the helpless again."

"And with you controlling all of it." Kim said.

"They will need a leader to help guide them. To show them the way."

"And those who don't see it your way?" Kim asked him, but she knew what answer was coming.

"No Sacrifice, no victory, Kara. Join me, and rule at my side. You are my God child, almost my daughter. Your father and I were as brothers, you deserve to be in a position of power. When the time comes, you can rule this world and shape into your own vision. Our home reborn." He said as he offered his hand to her.

It was tempting for her, it truly was. She really could finally live in a world without so much evil in it, without senseless killing and all this greed? Who wouldn't want that? A new Krypton. It would be a chance to be with her own kind, her own people. And the closest thing she has to her blood family. A part of her was almost screaming to take Zod's hand. One of her dreams would finally come true. She so desired the chance to not feel like an outcast or feel like she's alone in the world. To no longer be the only survivor of Krypton.

"No. Just because we have the ability to rule humans, doesn't mean we should. They deserve the right to decide how to their lives. It's not up to us to decide for them." Kim said to Zod proudly. But she had to admit, it was the hardest thing for her to do as she saw one of her dreams slowly slipping away.

"Just like your father." Zod sighed. "He would be proud of you." Zod said as he walked back to Brainiac. His reaction somehow confused her. This wasn't the same Zod her father had told her about so many times. "But as with Jor-El, you must learn to live with the consequences of your actions." He said as he walked to Brainiac.

Brainiac reached into his pants pocket, where the silver bracelet that he had hidden. After removing it, he handed it to Zod without question. Grasping it firmly, Zod turned to Kim with a regretful look on his face as he held his hand up toward her direction.

"I am sorry to do this, Kara." He said as he opened his hand.

The bracelet hung in mid air for a moment before it began to spin, going faster and faster with each rotation. Before she could act, the bracelet was glowing with energy before a giant portal opened, pulling everything within reach.

Kim found herself digging her fingers into the floor of the fortress as she felt the strength of the vortex pull her off of her feet. Kim was having to use bother her flight and her strength to try and resist the pull of the vortex. She never had to strain so hard with anything in her entire life! She looked downward and saw her fingers forming trenches in the floor as she was being pulled little by little. She had to break free from its pull!

As she slowly began pulling herself forward, she heard the floor begging to crack! Her eyes shot open, and she saw the cracks begin to spread too quickly. She pulled her hand loose to try and grab a more solid piece of floor, but saw the floor give away. It happened all so fast, the only thing she saw was the open portal before she went flying through it before it closed behind her with a loud sonic boom.

"What did you do?" Ursa asked her lover.

"I sentenced her to the same fate her father gave me." Zod said as he watched the ashes of the bracelet fall to the floor.

"What?" Ursa asked before turning to look at Brainiac. "You miniaturized the Phantom Zone projector? Then why didn't you just use it to free Zod?" Ursa asked.

"Because the device can only work one way, Ursa. It will send people into the zone, but it will not bring them out." Brainiac said.

"And with Kara in the Phantom Zone, this world is now helpless." Zod said to them.

"What about the Green Lantern?" Ursa asked him.

"During my incarceration in the Phantom Zone, I discovered a secret the Guardians have been trying to keep hidden. The power of the Green Lanters will not work against anything that is yellow." Zod said with a chuckle and a smile.

"Yellow? The most powerful weapon in the universe is vulnerable to a color?" Brainiac asked.

"I know. It's so simple that it's almost laughable. Now, my empire awaits." Zod said as he and his followers left the Fortress.

As they did, the massive structure began to power down, growing dim in the light of the North Pole until it looked nothing more like a giant pile of rocks. All energy and life that was once inside the fortress was gone. It no longer had a reason for it to be active since the last living member of the House of El was no where within its sensor range. The Fortress was now nothing more than a tomb to all that Krypton once was.


	16. To Hell and Back

Invincible 

By FAH3

**Two Days Later.**

"How's it coming, Wade?" Batman asked as he flew the bat wing over the frozen wasteland of North Pole.

"_I still can't believe what I'm looking at! Every firewall and counter program I throw at, it shred in seconds. Hell, almost nano seconds!"_ Wade said from the bat cave.

"How far has the virus spread?" he asked.

"_All the computers in half the U.S. are nothing more than paperweights, and I don't mean in just home computers. I mean, everything!"_

"Did you cut the lines to the main computer in the cave?"

"_That was the first thing I did. All wireless and hard lines to the computer have been severed."_

"Good. How long will it be until the virus affects everything else?"

"_In the United States? A day and a half, two days max. And a week for it to affect the rest of the world's systems."_

"We've got to find a way to get rid of that virus!"

"_I'm working on it! What about you?"_

"I'm at the North Pole now."

"_Well, I still haven't found any sign of her. But how are you going to find her? You don't even know what you're looking for."_ Wade said to him.

As Ron flew over the next mountain range, his eyes grew wide underneath his cowl as he saw something almost as incredible as the northern lights themselves in the distance.

"Oh my God." Batman said to himself.

"_Batman?"_

"I think I just found what I was looking for." He said as he saw the fortress looming over him as he brought the wing down in front of it. Wade activated the built in cameras that were in the wing, and couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"_Holy cow! That's where she was for seven years? It's – incredible."_ Said in awe of the massive structure while Batman exited the cockpit and began marching into the marvel.

The interior was just as massive and amazing as the outside was. But there wasn't that much light coming into the structure. Taking out a hand held lamp from his belt, he began searching. He hoped there was some sort of clue to where Kim was.

"_Is that thing made of ice?"_ Wade asked.

"No." Batman said as he looked at one of the large pillars more closely. "It's some type of crystal, but I haven't seen anything like it before." He said as he walked further into the structure.

"_Find anything interesting?"_

"Maybe." Batman said as his light fell upon the now useless machinery that was at the center of the fortress. One piece at a time, he began examining it, trying to see what it had been made for. "I think I found the stolen machinery. A bunch of these components have the logo for Gough Industries all over them. But it looks like they've been mutilated to form something else."

"_Any idea what?"_

"None. Most of it's been burned out through. It's almost like a large amount of power overloaded the systems." Batman said as he turned, and froze.

"_Batman? Are you still there?"_

"I just found something else. Turn on the cameras in the cowl to get a good look."

"_Oh my God. Is that what I think it is?"_ Wade asked as Batman walked closer to the large black object. It looked like several pieces of th hull had fallen off, but there wasn't any mistake. When Ron looked inside, his blood almost ran cold. The interactive control panels' barley had any power left as they flickered, but Batman recognized the language. He couldn't read it, but he had seen Kim look at that holographic database several times to know what he was looking at.

"_Is it a real ship?"_

"More than that, Oracle. This ship is Kryptonian."

"_Kryptonian? Is it Kim's ship?"_

"Negative. Kim's is still locked away in the Rockies. This is a completely different one."

"_Was Kim building it?"_

"I doubt that. I can see several scratches, and other places that look like impact marks. This thing has been in use." Batman said as he looked around the inside of the cockpit.

"_What was it Kim said before she took off?"_

"She said they're here. Oracle, I think we've got company."

* * *

Her head was spinning as a sharp pain kept throbbing in the back of her head, almost feeling like something was stabbing her. When her eyes fluttered open, she immediately had to close them as what almost seemed like a bright sun was shinning directly in her face. She turned over and began to pull herself up to her knees. As she did, a loud hiss escaped her lips as she felt a pain in her palm. She looked at her palm, and was surprised to see a small trail of blood running down it. After wiping it away, she saw a small puncture wound on her palm. But it had been several years since something actually pierced her skin.

As soon as she stood to her feet, she was able to get a decent look at her surroundings. What she saw was a barren and rocky terrain all around her with various rock formations scattered about. She looked up and saw that the sun that was shinning down on her was yellow. But if this was a yellow sun, why was she hurt? Kim took a few running steps and tried to lift herself into the air, but soon found herself crashing face first into the hard ground. At least this confirmed one thing as she spit the dirt out of her mouth. She had no powers here. So here she was. Trapped in a wasteland with no food, no water, and no superpowers. In a situation like this, there was only one thing she could do. She started walking, and hoped she found some trace of a civilization soon.

For hours, she walked through the dessert as sweat dripped heavily down her face. She didn't know how many dunes she had walked over, but it almost seemed like she was getting no where fast. She used her cape to wipe away the large amount of sweat that had gathered on her face and kept pushing onward. She desperately wanted to rest for a moment as her legs began to feel like they were made of jelly. But she knew she couldn't. Not now, at least. She didn't know what else was out here with her. But she knew she'd have to take a break soon. She could fell more and more of the heat almost drain the strength in her away. So far, she still hadn't found anything. Where in God's name was she?

As she tried to move onward, she thought she heard something. She looked all around her, but she didn't see anything. As she looked, she heard it again, but this time there was more than one. It was almost like some kind of strange howling. It wasn't like a wolf howl, but more like a moan. As she heard so many of them moan together, she realized she had heard that sound before. When Zod had appeared. As Kim took one more step, a bright ghostly figure ran into her at full speed and knocked her to the ground.

Kim pulled herself to her feet as she tried to regain her senses from the blow. But as she rose, she could feel a sharp pain in her left arm. As she looked down, she saw a crimson trail stain her uniform as it oozed from a fresh cut in her arm. She tried to see how deep it was, but was soon struck in the face by another ghostly figure. Kim found herself hitting the ground on her back before she began tumbling and falling down the rocky dune. When she stopped, she finally looked up and saw that she was surrounded by several beings that seemed to look like ghosts made of pure energy. Each of them had a strange, distorted, face as they looked at her. And every single one of the faces seemed to be glaring at her with pure rage and hatred. Kim didn't know how many it would take to beat the living crap out of her without her powers, she just knew how many they were going to use.

She tried to back away from the ghosts as they all seemed to be circling her; getting ready for an attack. As she backed away, the ground beneath her soon turned soft as she fell into a pit of some kind of strange substance that felt like a combination of both tar and quicksand. She quickly tried to pull herself back onto solid land, but only to for one of the ghosts to strike her in the face again. The blow was strong enough to knock her backwards into the strange sludge, almost covering her face completely. She was struggling to stay afloat; struggling to make it back to the sludge as they kept circling her. There was nothing in her ears except the sound of them either screaming or letting out a cold-blooded laugh as she struggled to stay afloat.

As another wraith began to speed towards her to deliver the final blow, a blinding flash engulfed all of them. The wraiths began to let out an ear piercing scream of pain as the light blinded them. As the light began to fade, all of them tried to fly away as far as they could before the light returned. As the wraiths fled, Kim finally reached the edge of the pit and pulled herself onto solid ground. Her legs were still in the sludge and her cape felt like an iron weight, but she was safe. But she was exhausted from having to pull herself free. As she began to loose consciousness, she saw a lone figure wrapped in a strange cloak and mask looking down at her. Before she fell asleep, she heard him say one thing.

"Welcome to hell."

* * *

Everyone was screaming in terror as the H1 Hummer came flying out of the front end of the deli restaurant before crashing into two other parked cars; exploding as soon as it collided. As the citizens of the city tried to flee for their lives, several armed forces soldiers made their way past them, trying to reach the source of the trouble. Once past the screaming masses, the immediately took aim and began to open fire. Every soldier unloaded at least three clips worth of ammunition at their target, but it was still moving. In a matter of seconds, they were all incinerated, almost as if they were standing in the middle of a nuclear blast.

The large man only chuckled, sounding more like a growl, as he walked past the smoking piles of ash as he picked up an F-150 and began running. In one swing, the large giant of a man sent several soldiers into the air in an arc while sending others crashing into the sides of the surrounding buildings or the parked vehicles. As he raised his arm for another swing, the truck he was holding exploded in a giant fireball. He walked out of the flaming debris and saw a large assault vehicle with one soldier standing tall and holding a rocket launcher. Another rocket began flying toward him at incredible speed, but not fast enough. The behemoth caught the rocket in one hand before breaking it in two.

As the two soldiers began to panic, the large man took flight and started gaining ground on the vehicle in mere moments. Before they had a chance to bail out, the large man struck the vehicle with a mighty blow and sent it into the window on the 24th floor of the building in front of him. For a few minutes, the vehicle wobbled there before exploding in a giant explosion and took out the entire floor with it.

"He's having fun, isn't he?" Ursa asked her lover.

"He deserves to. After spending all that time in a stasis chamber, he needs to get some exercise." Zod said as if they were casually walking on a normal day.

"My Lord, I do not see the reasoning in letting Non cause so much chaos and destruction." Brainiac said.

"Fear, my dear android. I want this world to see our strength and for them to see how pointless their resistance to us is." Zod said.

"Intimidation." Brainiac said as a strong wind began to blow. All looked up in the sky to see two armed helicopters hovering above them.

"Look, Zod. They need machines to fly." Ursa said to him.

"What bravery it must take to fly such primitive and – unstable machinery. Be a dear Ursa and blow them a kiss." Zod said.

Without even trying, Ursa began blowing a steady breath with the strength of category four hurricane. Both helicopters were beginning to have trouble as Ursa kept the steady breath. One was able to fly away to try a different approach while the other soon found itself flying out of control. Unable to regain his control, the pilot immediately jumped from the chopper as it began to fall and crash on top a gas station. A giant fireball soon erupted, rocking the city as all the stored gas and the ordinance on the chopper ignited.

"Shall I dispose of the other one?" Brainiac asked as he saw the second start an attack run.

"No. I'll handle this one myself." Zod said as he took the air.

The chopper immediately opened fired, trying to stop Zod as he flew. The effort was useless as each bullet bounced off of him, causing him no harm what so ever. He flew past the chopper and grasped the tail firmly in both of his hands. With his left hand, he tightened his fist and ripped the tail off completely before hurling it away. Grasping the rest of the chopper, he began to spin the chopper faster and faster before letting it go and watching it fade out of sight. A small grin formed as he saw the resulting explosion from its crash in the far distance before landing next to Ursa and Non.

"Is there nothing on this world to challenge me?" he asked them.

"Maybe I can be of service." A voice called out before blasting all three in the chest with an emerald energy blast.

As Zod rose to his feet, he saw a tall man wearing a dark green mask while wearing an all too familiar emerald and black uniform with a few hints of white. The one detail that stuck out was the symbol on his chest, and the glowing ring on his right hand.

"I suppose you're the Green Lantern of this sector?" Zod asked as he dusted himself off.

"You bet your ass I am. And you better be ready to put your head between your legs and kiss your butts goodbye if any of you try anything." He said as he aimed the glowing ring at them.

"One of the most, supposedly, powerful weapons in the universe." Zod said to himself.

"Supposedly?" the masked man asked with a questioning eyebrow. He hadn't met anyone this arrogant since his mentor.

"My friends and I will cooperate." Zod said smugly.

"What?" Ursa asked, only to be silenced as Zod rose his hand.

"But that's if you can handle my companion." He said as he stepped aside and let Brainiac make himself known.

"I should offer you a chance to surrender, but I'm not in the mood." Brainiac sad as the skin on his right arms split open and the machinery inside formed an energy cannon and quickly fired a concentrated blast of yellow energy.

The Green Lantern quickly raised a protective dome around himself, but was stunned when the energy blast shattered his dome like glass. The blast knocked the wind out of him, causing to fall as he lost his concentration and hit the pavement hard.

"Interesting. The new data was right." Brainiac said as the cannon retracted and the skin sealed itself.

"What the hell are you?" he asked as an emerald glow began to form around himself.

"Something superior." Brainiac said as his entire body began to change color. This was confusing to the Green Lantern when he saw that his opponent was now completely yellow.

"Are you trying to look like a block of cheese on purpose?"

"Your superiors did not tell you? Interesting." Brainiac said as he began walking forward.

Immediately, the Lantern generated a battering ram that was hurled at his strange opponent, only for it to shatter and dissipate as soon as it made contact.

"What the?" he asked himself as he looked at his ring. "Ring, how much power do you have left?"

_Ring power is at ninety-four percent._

"Then why isn't anything I do working? He asked himself as he generated a suit of armor around himself and immediately began striking the strange being in the face as heard as he could. He saw that he had split the man's lip and broken his nose in several places, but he still wasn't even phased. The Lantern looked down at his armored fists and saw that the armor was dented and cracking. "Ring, why isn't this working?"

_Scanning._ The ring said as he placed a swift uppercut into the man's torso before placing a hard left hoof to his face. _Scan complete. Ring will not work on opponent because of his yellow pigment._

"What does his skin pigment have anything to do with this?"

"_Power ring will not work on anything that is yellow._ The ring answered.

"DO WHAT?" Lantern shouted as a metal tentacle shot forward and wrapped itself tightly around his wrist, causing the armor to fade away.

"As I understand it, a great deal of concentration is needed in order for this to work." Brainiac said as the Lantern fought to free his arm.

With a fast jerk, Brainiac broke the Green Lantern's arm with a loud sickening snap. As the Lantern shouted in pain, Brainiac hurled the Lantern over his head and swiftly brought him crashing down into the solid pavement before slamming him against the side of the building as hard as he could. As Brainiac's pigment returned to normal, he tossed the unconscious Lantern aside like he was a broken rag doll. Zod slowly walked up to the unconscious Green Lantern and took a good look at him. His arm was bent backwards at the mid forearm; his uniform was ripped with half of his mask torn away. As the Lantern moaned in pain, Zod began to sneer.

"You are one of the so called Guardians of the Universe? How pathetic." Zod said as they stepped over the fallen hero and proceeded onward.

* * *

"_BATMAN!"_ Wade screamed into the communicator, causing Batman to wince.

"What is it, Oracle?" he asked as he sat in the small cockpit of the alien vessel, trying to remember what little he had learned of the Kryptonian language.

"_Batman, we've got serious trouble!" _

"How bad?"

"_You better get back to the wing and tune it into one of the news channels."_

It took him some time, but Batman had sealed himself back in the cockpit of his wing and activated the monitor that was built into the control panel. After finding a satellite signal, he quickly turned it to one of the twenty-four hour news channels.

"_For those of you just joining us, we are reporting live from Coast City, California. Despite our earlier reports, the city has been ransacked by four people with powers similar to those of the Metropolis Marvel, Superwoman. Even Coast City's own Green Lantern was helpless to stop them."_

"_YOU THERE!"_ the woman ordered as the camera turned to her and revealed a tall man standing beside her. He was wearing a strange silver armor with an elaborate Z on the front as they stood side by side. _"Who are you talking to?"_

"_With this feed, everyone. The whole world could be watching right now."_

"_Excellent."_ The man in the armor said as he turned to the camera._ "I am General Zod, and I have message to your world leaders. The age of Zod is upon you all. You have twenty-four hours to surrender control over your lands, your cities, even your very lives, over to me. If you cooperate with my demands, your reward will be generous. In other words, we will allow you to live."_ He said to them.

"_Some may not agree to that." _The reporter said.

"_Then they will all answer to me! If not, every civilization on this world will look much worse than this."_ Zod said as he turned and nodded to the large man behind him. With a nod of his head, the large man flew into one building and brought it down to the ground, along with two other behind it. _"You have twenty-four hours."_ Zod said before the transmission was cut.

"_Batman, we need Superwoman." _Wade said.

"I'm working on it, Oracle. I've learned all I can here. I'm returning to the cave now." Batman said as he powered up the engines. If they were Kryptonians, then Ron would have to use the safe guards he had created in case Kim ever went Rogue.

* * *

Her throat was dry as she began to wake up. She also felt like she had been playing in the mud as she tried to rub the sleep from her eyes. As she tried to sit up, the first thing she was greeted with was the feel of a knife against her throat. She opened her eyes and saw a man in his early fifties wearing tattered robes over a navy blue body suit. His brown hair was shaggy and unkempt as he looked at her with brown eyes. He had a few scratches that had healed over, and there was a symbol on his chest that had been faded and seen better days. The knife he was holding to her throat seemed to be made out of some sort of strange crystal with several layers of cloth wrapped around the base of it to make a handle.

"You have a lot of questions, I can tell. But right now, I want answers." He said to her as he pressed the knife against her skin. "First of all, why are you wearing that shield?" he asked her.

"Shield?"

"Don't play games with me." He growled. "That Kryptonian crest you were. Where did you get it?" he asked her.

"It's my family crest." She said to him.

"LIAR!" he said and started to press the knife onto her skin more.

"It's the truth!" she said. "My name is Kar Jor-El, of the House of El."

"Jor-El?" he asked her as Kim felt the pressure of the knife starting to lighten. "Jor-El was your father?" he asked her.

"Yes." Kim said to him.

"But the last time I saw him – How many years has it been?" he asked himself as he removed the blade and looked at the carvings he had created on the wall. "I apologize. It's been years since I've seen a member of the House of El." He said as he dropped the knife. Kim was able to take a good look around the place they were in, and saw it was a large cave. A large tattered cloth covered the opening with a few various items here and there. A few bowls and tools that had been created out of the rocks, along with what appeared to be stone carvings of people. A few more were of various symbols she had never seen before, while several carvings and paintings on the wall almost seemed like a calendar or star charts.

"Who are you?" she asked him.

"My name is Zaltar. I'm sorry about the knife, but you can't trust anyone here." He said to her as he handed her a woven pouch filled with water. Kim took a long sip of it before she handed it back.

"Can you tell me where I am?" she asked him.

"Just like I said before. We're in hell. Or at least, the closest thing to it while at the same time; we are nowhere." He said to her as he drank from the pouch.

"I don't understand." She said to him.

"My dear, you are in what is called the Phantom Zone. This is where the Kryptonian Council sends all the undesirables of Krypton. Criminals, invaders, hostile aliens. If the council thought they weren't fit to live among society, this is where they were sent." He said to her.

She didn't hear that much about the Zone from her father's teachings, but she knew it was a prison of sorts. "Then what were those things that attacked me?"

"Prisoners. Those who preformed the most heinous of crimes were transformed into beings of energy before placed here. Neither living nor dead. Their suffering shall continue ages after the rest of us are nothing more but the dust others will step on." He said as he set the pouch down. "And each of these beings have one thing in common. They hate the House of El with a passion." He said to her.

"Why?"

"You don't know? Well, I don't blame them for not telling you." He said before taking a deep breath. "You see, many years ago now, I was partnered with your grandfather by the council. Our assignment was to try and find a more suitable prison for Krypton's criminal element. For years, we had used other worlds as penal colonies. Sadly, that backfired on us when prisoners of one such world joined forces with a hostile alien force to try and take revenge. So we had to find a better prison.

"Then, by accident, your grandfather and I discovered this place." Zaltar said.

"Discovered? I thought the Phantom Zone was artificially created." Kim said when she remembered what little her father did tell her about the prison.

"The Council altered that little fact. The truth is, this is another dimension. And a very unique one at that."

"How unique?"

"For starters, it takes two-hundred annuals for us to age one. Time almost has no meaning here." Zaltar said.

"_Annuals? I forgot. Krypton measured time differently than Earth. A cycle is a month, and an annual is a year." _Kim thought to herself. "What else?" she asked him.

"The very air we're breathing supplies enough nutrients to us that we don't starve to death or die of thirst. The only way to die here is from a mortal wound." He said to her. "So that's why the prisoners here hate the House of El. They blame that family for them being sent to this cursed wasteland. A No Man's Land."

"But if you found this place with my grandfather, why are you here?" Kim asked. Since this was technically a prison, she didn't have a reason to trust this person.

"That was my fault. You see, I wanted to find a faster way of traveling to other planets. Well, I had created a device to do so. But the engines I had created needed a large power source to generate a faster than light speed. So I borrowed one of our cities power sources. An Omega Hedron." He said to her.

Kim had heard of the power sources. They were a scientific marvel of Krypton's Golden Age. Before switching to a safer power source, the Omega Hedrons were very unstable and had to be handled a certain way. If they weren't, they could cause an explosion twice the size of the Hiroshima bomb.

"You stole it?"

"No. I burrowed it with full intention of giving it back. There was just, one small problem."

"Which was?"

"On the ship's test flight, the auto pilot malfunctioned and created the great Northern Chasm of Krypton. You know, it's ironic. One of the first men to discover the Phantom Zone is also one of the first to be imprisoned here." He said as he glanced outside the cave they were in.

"How long have you been here?" she asked him.

"If I've been keeping my calendar up to date, I was supposed to be freed three or four annuals ago. But since you've never heard of me, I'm guessing they forgot about me. And I was sure your grandfather might have said something about me to your father." Zaltar said.

"He's doesn't know." Kim whispered to herself. "Is there anyway to get out of here? A back door?"

"A back door?" he asked before he started laughing. "My dear, this is another dimension! The only way in or out of here is with a portal generator. And all of those are on the other side." He said to her. "I'm afraid you're stuck here with the rest of us."

"No. NO!" Kim shouted and punched the cave wall, only to wince in pain as she cradled her hand.

"Careful. Just because you can't die of infection here doesn't mean you should start hurting yourself." He said as he grabbed a piece of cloth and poured some water onto it before wrapping her bleeding knuckles with it.

"Zaltar, I have to get out of here. My home needs me." She told him.

"Not until the council decides to let you out. That's how it works." He said.

"Zaltar, there isn't a council anymore." She said to him.

"What do you mean?"

Kim took a deep breath before looking at him again. This was always hard to talk about. "Zaltar, I didn't grow up on Krypton. I grew up on a planet known as Earth." She told him.

"Preposterous! Krypton only has two colony worlds, and none of them are named Earth."

"No. My father sent me there when I was a baby. To save me." She said to him.

"Save you? My dear, you're not making any sense."

"Zaltar, Krypton was destroyed several years ago." She told him.

"That can't be. That can't be. You're here! You know of your name and your crest, even those clothes you wear are in Kryptonian fashion." He said.

"Zaltar, I'm not lying. I only learned about Krypton through messages my father left me. I never knew him, or anyone else. I grew up thinking I was an Earthling for most of my life." She said to him.

Zaltar slowly slumped down to the cave floor as he let his brain absorb this new piece of information. It would explain a lot to him. Why there hadn't been any new arrivals in so long, or why there hadn't been any deliveries of the basic supplies. His home, his friends, everything he knew, was gone.

"How?" he asked her.

"A man named General Zod." She said to him.

"Zod? Great Rao, that's what they meant!"

"They?"

Ages ago, several people were put into the Zone. They kept talking about a man they had been following. A General they called Zod. Something about restoring Krypton's glory. But there was always something else. They kept talking about Zod's wrath if he was ever captured. But how did he destroy Krypton?" he asked her.

"He took control of a computer called Brainiac." She told him.

"The Construct? Dear Rao, that would give him access to everything on Krypton. If he overloaded the Geo Thermal power plants, then – It's all gone?" he asked her.

"Yes. Until a short time ago, I thought I was the last Kryptonian. But I discovered Brainiac had been hiding on Earth with two of his followers. I don't know how, but Brainiac was with them. In a human form. They were able to free Zod, and they sent me here. Zaltar, they want to turn Earth into their version of Krypton. Earth orbits a yellow sun and,"

"And the radiation from a star that young would energize the cells of any normal Kryptonian. They'd be Gods among ants."

"And I'm the only one who can stop them. Please Zaltar. There has to be some way." She said to him, begging him. She couldn't just give up, and she'd be damned before she would ever quit. There had to be a way out of here.

"There's one way out. When we first completed our survey of the Zone, your grandfather placed a projector here. But there's one catch."

"Which is?"

"Only the blood member of the House of El can use it. It has a DNA scanner built into it, in case a member of his family was put here under false charges." Zaltar said to her.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Kim said as she stood up.

"There's a problem." Zaltar said, causing her to stop. "The followers of Zod have made a camp, three klicks from the projector. They've tried to kill me for revenge, but I've been able to elude them. If we're going to try and make it to the projector, you're going to need a disguise." He said as he stood and walked to another part of the cave and began pulling out several robes.

* * *

The last place the President of the United States should be is in the White House during a situation like this. They would be transferred to classified location, but that was no longer an option. After the four invaders had made themselves known, the next places they attacked were every single location they would have used to hide the President. Every base and location had been destroyed. And not too long ago, they had just received word that they had destroyed Air Force One.

So as the whole cabinet and most of the White House staff stood huddled in the oval office, The Army, secret Service, Police, and even the Marines were stationed outside and set for World War III. Several were smoking while others were doing their best not to suffer a total nervous breakdown. There were several guards posted all along the entrances and windows with the curtains drawn closed. Everyone was anxious since they didn't know where these four were now, or when they might attack. This had to be one of the most frightening things besides the fight that was coming. Just the waiting.

"_Targets are in sight and in bound for the White House."_ The radio on one of the guards said.

"Do not let them get in here! As soon as they're within range, open fire!" the guard said.

"_Roger."_

Soon, gunfire could be heard about a mile or so beyond the white house. Fears and anxiety were stating to rise as they heard several guns of various size begin shooting. Time was up. Some of the shots were starting to grow louder and grow in size. A few of the people began pacing as they felt the icy grip of fear start to grow more and more inside of them. Some were even doing their best not to fart since their fear gave them more gas than they had ever had in their life.

A few screamed when the first explosion was heard. A small tremor was felt throughout the room as they heard it, wondering who it was. Some wanted to look through the window, but they couldn't risk letting the attackers know that they were in here. Soon another explosion rang out, and then another. Several more sounded with each causing the White House to shake more and more. Almost everyone screamed in sheer terror as a giant explosion erupted right outside the White House, causing the entire building to shake viciously as the glass in the windows shattered all over the people inside..

"CALM DOWN! CALM DOWN!" one guard shouted.

"Wave one, report! Wave one!" another said into the radio, but received static. "Someone tell me what's going on out there!"

"_Sir! Wave's one through four are down. They're in the White House! OPEN FIRE!"_

Everyone huddled together as they heard the heavy ordinance and machine gun fire sound out just outside the room. They couldn't make any of it out, but there were several men shouting orders as the gun fire continued. Soon, screams of pain could be heard as the building began to shake and tremble. The gunfire and screaming was getting closer and closer. It was almost like watching a tsunami right before it would hit. Then, everything went silent. Everyone didn't know what to make of it. There were just the uneasy sounds of silence.

"Maybe our guys stopped them." One man said.

That's when the entire wall was destroyed as several soldiers were thrown through it, taking out the guards that had been posted there. Entering calmly and slowly through the smoke, the four strange beings stood before them like they had done nothing but swat at flies. The man in the center stepped forward and began to look at all the people that had gathered together in the small room.

"Which one of you is the one that is called President?" the man asked, but no one answered. "Non? Break their spines until they answer." He said.

"WAIT!" one voice shouted, causing the largest man stopped. Sitting at the desk was a small man with graying hair and his sleeves rolled up. "I'm the one ya'll want." He said to them.

Zod looked down at the carpet and noticed the symbol on it before looking back up at the man that had spoken. "I see that your people worship things that fly. Very good." Zod said calmly. "Stand before me." He ordered.

As quick as he could, the small gray haired man complied as he pushed through the crowds. Trembling like crazy, he stood firmly and faced the man.

"Now, kneel before Zod." He said. He watched as the man slid down to both knees before him, and kept his head bowed down. The expression on Zod's face quickly turned into a sneer. "You're not the president." He said, causing the small man to look up in shock. It was almost like someone had slapped him in the face. "One who leads so many would never kneel so quickly." He said.

"I'm the one their protecting." Another man said as he stepped forward. An older, taller man who faced Zod and tried his best not to show any fear. "I'm the President." He said as he stood before Zod, forcing the small man to rejoin the crowd. "I'll kneel before you, but only if it will save lives."

"It will. Starting with your own." Zod told him. The President let out one large steady breath before he looked at Zod one more time.

"What I do, I do to save countless innocents all over the world. But there are those out there that will never kneel before you."

"Where are these idiotic fools?" Zod asked.

"I wish I knew." The President said before taking one more calming breath and slowly lowered himself to one knee. "Oh, God." He said to himself, unable to believe what he had just done.

"Zod."

* * *

At first, Kim was somewhat dreading the idea of having to wear the worn out cloth that Zaltar found. But as the harsh winds of the massive sandstorm kept blowing at them with all its fury, she was glad she had this thing on. So far, it was doing a pretty good job of protecting her face and the rest of her body from being peeled away one layer at a time. So far, the journey had been long and slow going because of the storm. They had past several strange stones that she could have almost sworn were the same structure as the crystals that made her fortress.

"What are these things?" she asked Zaltar.

"When the council began using the Zone, they had tried to create some structures for the prisoners to reside in. But many weren't able to form in the environment here. And those that did were destroyed by the phantoms." He said as they began climbing the steep slope of a looming hill.

After struggling and almost slipping here and there, Kim was awe struck by what she saw. There, almost a mile and a half away was what looked like a strange mountain. But at the base of it was a fairly large group of make shift tents that were either made out of cloth or rock. And each person down among the tent town was wearing a large black robe.

"Those are Zod's followers?" Kim asked.

"Every single one of them." Zaltar said.

"Let me guess. We're not going around them?"

"It would take too long. Hopefully, if we keep to ourselves, they won't do anything." Zaltar said as he began moving.

"Why do I get the feeling that that's not going to happen?" Kim asked herself as she began to follow him.

Kim now had a complete and different understanding of the phrase "Into the Lion's Den" as she and Zaltar began making their way through the gathered Kryptonian prisoners. Every so often, she would see some strange drawing or stone carving of what was supposed to be General Zod. It was almost like they worshiped him as a messiah. But what was also common on every single person she passed was they had the symbol of Zod either tattooed or carved into them. She had read the files in the Fortress and listened to her father talk about how great their people were. They were so dedicated to the preservation of life and further their knowledge and understanding of the universe. How could people so brilliant lower themselves to something like this?

As they walked onward, she began feeling a little uneasy. She always had a sort of sixth sense wen she was walking into a bad sitch, and it was flaring up like a wild grease fire. The more she felt uneasy, the more she noticed that a few more prisoners were starting to look at them. What they were doing was so incredibly dangerous. It'd be like Ron walking into Arkham with a sign on his back that said he was Batman.

"Try to relaz, Kara. Some of these people can see fear as clearly as the hair on your head." Zaltar said to her.

"Now you tell me." She whispered to him.

"Hold." A large man said as he stepped in front of them, blocking their path. "What brings you among the loyal servants of Zod?" he asked them.

"We're trying to seek shelter to the east. Our home in the west was destroyed by the Phantoms." Zaltar said to him.

"Anyone that travels through here must pay homage to Zod." The man said to them.

"But we have no food, nor any money. What we could call our own was destroyed." Zaltar said.

"I think I know a way for her to pay homage to our Lord." The man said as he began to reach out to touch Kim, before she slapped it away.

"Back off." Kim growled.

"This little one has fire. They're always scream the be,"

Before he could finish talking, Kim struck him in his Adam's Apple. The man began gasping loudly before Kim grasped him by his head and bashed his face into her knee, and threw him to the ground by his arm and breaking it.

"No one, touches me." Kim said.

"Kara, you're robe!" Zaltar whispered.

Kim looked down and noticed what he was talking about. Her robe had fallen away to reveal her shield. She quickly tried to cover herself up, but it was too late. Many of the prisoners were already standing, several armed with make shift knives.

"Kara, run!" Zaltar shouted as the others began to charge them.

Kara immediately began running through various tents with Zaltar behind her. They had to find a way to get to the mountain side without these creeps following them. One man slashed the cloth of the tent they were in away and tried to attack Kim. Acting quickly, she tumbled forward and rolled beneath her attacker before punching him in his abs as hard as she could. While the man tried to regain his break, Kim placed a swift kick in-between his eyes and sent him spiraling to the ground.

"LOOK OUT!" Zaltar shouted as another attacker rushed Kim's right.

Zaltar immediately was in front of her and both men fell to the ground. Zaltar let out a small shout as the two wrestled, rolling along the ground and covering each other in the hot dirt. Zaltar was able to push the man off of himself and stood to his feet in time to block the man's attack with his own knife. Kim immediately grabbed a stone carving of Zod and broke it over the man's head as he tried to attack Zaltar again, knocking him out cold.

"Are you all right?" Kim asked him.

"I'm fine. Let's go!" he said as they heard more of Zod's followers coming quickly.

Kim and Zaltar ran out of the tent and made a direct course for the mountain. Kim could hear the angry shouts and cries of the insane Kryptonians behind her as they tried to make their legs pump faster. Kim's ear's might not have been as fine tuned as they once were, but her hearing was still sharp. She could hear one of the Kryptonians right on top of her which meant she had to act fast. Kim dropped as fast as she could and preformed a wide sweep behind herself, knocking over two attackers. They weren't expecting that. She would try and knock them unconscious, but she had to out run the rest of them. It took her only a minute to catch up with Zaltar.

They were almost to the base of the mountain when Kim found the arms of one of the followers wrapped around her body. With all her might, she jabbed her elbow into his abdomen before stomping onto his foot and heard a snap. When her attackers grip broke, she jammed her elbow swiftly and as hard as she could into her attacker's nose before jamming her knee into his crotch hard! As he began to double over in pain, she swiftly kicked him in the face which caused him to fly backwards and hit his head on a rock; the force of the blow knocking him unconscious. Without wasting another minute, she and Zaltar began scaling the mountain side.

* * *

"J'onn, have you found any sign of her?" Batman asked as he and Wade worked in the machine shop that was hidden in the lower levels of the cave.

"_Not so much as a trace. It's almost as if she's disappeared."_ The Martian replied. _"Do you want me and Diana to help you in Gotham?"_

"No. So far, everything's under control. Hopefully, what we're planning might give us an edge. Keep looking for her, J'onn." Batman said.

"_I'll do my best."_ He said before the transmission ended.

"If you're finished playing Close Encounters, I need help mounting this thing." Wade said as he pulled on a nylon rope that was hoisting a large component to a larger, unfinished, machine. "I can't believe you've actually been planning this thing."

"One thing I've learned over the years, Wade, is that you never completely trust anyone." Batman said as he helped lift the strange device into place, allowing Wade to tie it off and begin the wielding.

"Ron, Kim's been your best friend for years, and you're sleeping with each other. You can't tell me you don't trust her." Wade said, but was greeted with nothing but silence. "You've got to be kidding me."

"You never know what might happen, Wade." Was all Batman said. "How far has the virus spread now?"

"All computers in the United States are down, and it's already halfway around the world. It won't be that much longer until all computers are useless." Wade said as he connected a few wires before returning to the wielding. "Is that what you're going to tell her when you have to explain this? You never know what might happen?" Wade asked him.

"She'd understand." Batman said.

"Are you sure? Or are you hoping she'd understand? Ron, I saw you when the Scarecrow got you with that fear gas. The main thing you kept screaming the entire time was you begging Kim not to leave you."

"You point?"

"If you love her, don't hide it." Wade said to him and went back to work.

Ron knew he was right. He loved Kim, more than anything than he thought was possible. He could always trust her, right? He couldn't think about that now. The Batman had work to do.

* * *

Kim and Zaltar were halfway up the mountain when they stopped to rest on a protruding ledge. Having to do all this physical excursion wasn't as hard when she had her superpowers, and she had been doing this all her life. Zaltar was leaning against the rock face as he clutched his stomach and breathed heavily. She guessed he didn't have to do anything like this for a couple of years either. She was about to sit down when she heard the sound of several smaller rocks falling. Leaning over the edge, she saw that several of Zod's followers were climbing up the mountain!

"Zaltar, we've got company coming!" she said.

"It doesn't make any sense. Why would they camp out at the mountain." Zaltar said as he looked over the edge as well.

"Do they know the portal is up here?" she asked him.

"No. I'm the only one here that knows it exists." Zaltar said as his breathing began to become heavier. "We've got to find some way to stop them."

"How?" Kim asked herself as she looked around them.

"I think I know." Zaltar said as he moved to another part of the ledge. "Help me."

"Help you do what? Play in the dirt?" she asked as she joined him.

"There's a portion of this that's cracking. If we can add enough weight or jar it loose enough, it should collapse and stop them." He said to her.

"What I wouldn't give for my strength." She said to herself.

"We may not need it." Zaltar said as he took his knife and began tracing the few cracks he could see. He stopped at almost the middle crack and looked at it carefully before jamming the knife into it as far as he could. "I need your help to jam it in further." He said.

"How?"

"Just help." He said.

Kim looked over the edge and saw that the other Kryptonians were getting closer. She had to think and fast. She looked at where the knife was, and the rock face behind them. After thinking in her head, she decided a course of action. "Get out of the way, Zaltar." Kim said.

"Why?"

"I'm going to try some cheerleading." Kim said and dashed to the rock face. With a small jump, she leapt onto the rock face before pushing herself off of it hard and did a mid air flip. With both feet aimed downward, she planted both feet on top of the knife as she placed her full weight onto the landing. The pain that shot through her feet was agonizing as she tumbled onto her back and was doing her best not to scream. It almost felt like she had broken both the arches in her feet.

As she rolled onto her side, she heard a series of loud cracks that were growing louder. She opened her eyes and saw that her plan, even though it was a long shot, had worked. Just one problem. She was on the ledge that would soon break off!

"GRAB MY HAND!" Zaltar shouted.

Acting quickly, Kim grabbed Zaltar's hand with both of hers as the a large chunk of the ledge broke and fell away, knocking most of the Kryptonians off the mountain with it. Using as much of his strength as he could, Zaltar pulled Kim upward while Kim climbed her way back up with her feet. Soon, both were panting for breath as they lay on their backs.

"Is this a normal thing?" she asked Zaltar.

"No. Most of the time, I've got to do a lot of stabbing or slashing." He said as he took a few more deep breaths. "We better start climbing again. They won't hesitate to come after us again." Zaltar said.

As Kim pushed herself back onto her now soar feet, she got a good look at her hands and saw there was blood smeared on them. Kim quickly checked herself, but didn't see any wounds or blood trails on her. Her feet were soar, but not wounded, and there were no open wounds on her hands. That only left one other option.

"Zaltar, turn around." She said as she saw the older man reach for the rock face.

"We don't have time, Kara."

"I said turn around, now." She said firmly.

Slowly, Zaltar turned to face her and Kim saw that he was clutching his stomach. His hand had a few drops of blood running between his fingers, and his robes were stained a dark red.

"What happened?" she asked him.

"The man that I stopped from hurting you. Apparently, I didn't realize where his knife was." Zaltar said as he let out a groan of pain.

"We have to treat that wound." Kim said.

"Kara, believe me. I'm okay. The important thing is that we get to that projector and get you back to Earth."

"Zaltar,"

"Kara, I've lived here for many years. Ever since your father was a baby. Trust me, I'm fine. Now let's go." Zaltar said as he turned back to the rock face and began climbing. Kim couldn't help but worry as she saw a partial smear of blood against the rock as he climbed.

* * *

It seemed that the farther upward they climbed, the fiercer the sand storm became. Kim tried to use the old robe to cover her face, but soon found it blown away and lost on the winds. Her eyes were stinging as tears streaked down her face. She could even feel her cape flapping fiercely in the wind, threatening to follow the same course as the robe. She tried to look upward to see f she could see the top, but she didn't see anything but the barley visible sky and the haze of all the sand.

"I don't know if I can make it." Kim said.

"You can! The House of El is known for their feats of greatness! Even back to the age when Kryptonians were but a barbarian race. So you can make it, Kara. Onward, girl! Onward!" Zaltar shouted to her as they climbed.

It felt like she was fighting against a storm of sandpaper. She could see her knuckles were hurt and bleeding, and she felt much of her skin rubbed raw by the storm. She had to try and make it. She couldn't let Zod win. She needed to protect Earth. She needed to protect her home, her friends, everything! She wasn't just a Kryptonian. It didn't matter what science said. She was human!

Out of breath and in pain, Kim reached upward for the next protruding rock but only found a flat surface. With her hope renewed, Kim pulled herself upward and saw they had reached the top! Kim pulled herself onto the top of the mountain, and saw something strange. Zaltar soon joined him, his breathing ragged as he leaned onto some of the rocks for support.

"Zaltar, is that part of the projector?" she asked him.

"Looking upward, Zaltar found that various advanced Kryptonian devices had been somehow linked into the projector. If he didn't know any better, he could almost swear it was

"A radio!" Zaltar said in shock.

"But how? I thought no one else knew about this."

"They don't. And the only way technology could have come here is,"

"Is what?" Kim asked as Zaltar trailed off.

"Is if the machinery was _in_ their bodies when they were brought here. For days I heard screaming, but I didn't know why. My God, they ripped these from the bodies of other followers. They had a link to the outside world." Zaltar said and groaned a little more.

"How do I activate the portal?" Kim asked him.

Zaltar picked up a rock that was on the ground that had an edge to it and handed it to Kim. "The pedestal there. Put your blood on it, and it will – it will activate the portal." Zaltar said as his balance began to waver.

Kim looked down at Zaltar's wound, and saw that most of his robes were nothing but dark soaking red, and his hand was covered in blood. From how pale he looked, it seemed that he didn't have much longer.

"Zaltar, come with me. The sunlight on Earth can help you." Kim said, holding her hand out for him.

"I am with you." He said, very weakly. Before Kim even realized what was happening, Zaltar fell backwards and disappeared from sight.

"ZALTAR!" Kim screamed as she rushed to the edge and looked over. She couldn't see anything anymore. The storm didn't allow her to see anything from where she stood. Kim felt part of her heart collapse as she realized that she had just lost yet another link to her family and her people. She couldn't help but shed a few tears for the lose of her new friend. She opened her eyes and looked upward once more as she slowly turned to face the machine. The pedestal stood there in the center with the symbol of her family carved into it.

Billions were counting on her, and she wouldn't let them down. She had lost too much to give up. Ever. Her parents died to save her life, her father died while making sure he raised her right, and now she lost one of the last remaining living links to her people to make sure she would be able to save the people of her home. No more. She wouldn't let their sacrifices be in vain. Picking up the stone Zaltar dropped; she used it to cut the palm of her hand open and walked to the pedestal. She placed her hand onto the symbol and saw it glow with life.

Four massive pillars made of stone began to shake with life. The stone surrounding them shattered, revealing four large glowing crystals as a massive portal opened before her. As the light of the portal bathed over her, she began to feel her powers return to her. She felt like her normal self. She looked at her hand and saw the cut heal instantly. The portal was generating massive amounts of yellow solar energy! With a determined look on her face, she looked directly into the portal.

"Earth." She said as she flew into the portal with it sealing itself behind her.

* * *

J'onn let out a loud gasp as he came to a sudden stop in mid flight, almost causing himself to go into a free fall. His red eyes were wide as seemed to be focused on an unseen object in space. Diana soon took notice when she realized she had been flying by herself.

"J'onn? J'onn, what's wrong?" Diana asked him as she flew to his side.

"She's back!" he said as he closed his eyes and began to concentrate.

"_Kim, where have you been?"_

"_Long story, J'onn. Just tell me the short version of what's happened?"_ Kim asked them through the psychic link he had made.

"_Four super powered beings have taken control of the United States while a computer virus is taking over the world's computer systems."_

"_Is one of these four named Zod?"_

"_Hoe did,"_

"_Never mind. Get Ron and Diana, and meet me at the spot I'm thinking of. Got it?"_

"_Got it."_ "We need to go." J'onn said as he started to fly.

"Go? Where?" Diana asked him.

"Somewhere important. Superwoman may have a plan." J'onn said to her.

* * *

Coming Soon in INVINCIBLE:

A League of Their Own.


	17. A League of Their Own

Invincible 

By FAH3

Mercy's entire body was in pain as she started to wake up. One whole side of her face ached as she tried to stand, but she was still too light headed. As she tried to fell her face, she hissed in pain. One whole half of her face was swollen, like it had become a large bruise. She also saw the blood that was on her fingers and guessed she probably had a laceration on her head. She tried to shake the cob-webs from her mind, but found it made her dizziness only worse. She glanced to the door that lead to Sherri's office and saw that it was wide open. She took a few wobbly steps as her legs felt like they were melting rubber. When she finally paused for a moment to try and gain her bearings, she noticed a very strange sound. Something she had never heard in this office ever since she began working for Miss Gough.

She turned to where the sound was coming from and had to squint as hard as she could in the darkness with her one good eye. Since one eye was almost swollen shut, it took a lot of effort to try and see everything with the other. As became used to the dark began to focus, a small gasp escaped her lips when she saw Sherri sitting near the elevator. And she was crying. Her boss, her lover, who was one of the strongest women she knew, was actually crying! What was even more confusing was that her pale green skin was now – normal.

"Sherri?" Mercy asked as she walked toward her boss, unsure if she was actually seeing things correctly. She only managed a few more steps before she collapsed next to her boss.

"The elevators are offline. Anything run by a computer is dead." Sherri said as Mercy saw the dried trails of tears that were practically covering her cheeks.

"Sherri, what happened to you? What's going on?" she asked her.

"It was that – thing. The one that gave us the tech to make Metallo." Sherri said simply.

Mercy tried to think and remembered someone stepping off the elevator. When she had looked up to get a glimpse at the visitor, something bashed her in the side of the face. She remembered trying to fight back, but only the person – no, it was a man. The man countered everything she had, and it felt like he had been hitting her with a fully loaded air conditioner. When he hit her in the head again, everything went dark.

"How did he do all this? There's just no way." She said when she remembered her boss' powers and knew she was a more skilled fighter than she ever hoped to be.

"He's broken me, and taken down my company. He sabotaged the computer systems. There's no way I can even get to the labs." Sheri said as her head hung low.

The office echoed with the hard slap Mercy gave across Sherri's face, causing the woman to glare at her assistant. Besides the burning rage that was so obvious a she glared daggers at the young woman in front of her, there was a very shocked look of disbelief. If Sherri had still possessed her powers, a large emerald fireball would be in both of her hands right now.

"What the,"

"This is bull, Sherri. The woman I know wouldn't be crying like a little girl with a skinned knee. You acting like this is a joke. I've seen you make men worse than Mike Tyson and your ex-husband tremble at your feet. So when you decide to start turning on the water works, you better have a damn good reason and not this crap. Now what are you going to do, Sherri?"

It took Sherri a moment to bite back the anger that was boiling through her. After taking a calming breath, she looked at her assistant directly in the eyes.

"If you ever slap me like that again, I will make you wish you never, ever, heard of Gough Industries. Let alone becoming my assistant." She growled.

"That's the bitch I know." Mercy said with a smirk.

"First thing's first. We need to find a way down to the labs. Project Metallo and Bizarro need to be brought online as soon as possible. Help me up." Sherri growled as Mercy began to wrap her arms around her.

* * *

Kim was flying over land almost faster than she had ever flown before. When she exited the portal, she was in Earth's orbit. The speed she had gained in re-entry had given her a welcomed boost, but it was almost uncontrollable. When she finally came to a stop at the location she was to meet J'onn and the others, the impact of her feet hitting the ground shook everything for a mile about one mile and causing a small crater to form.

Now that she was on solid ground again, she began to scan the area to make sure no one else was here. It had been years since anyone had been living here, but you could never be too careful. She didn't see anything active or anyone else in the area, and she couldn't hear in electronics working, so it was safe to assume she was by herself.

As she waited for the others to arrive, she was able to get a good look at her surroundings without having to see through anything. Most of the machines that were still there were either covered in years of dust or were completely falling apart. Several webs of various size covered almost everything as the drip of water could be heard echoing. The moat that once sat in the middle of the giant room had long since been drained away, not even leaving any sign that any liquid once sat in it. It was hard to believe Ron and her had been here so many times so many years ago.

"Interesting choice." A gruff voice said behind her, causing her to turn and look. Batman emerged from the shadows like he had been apart of them as he and Superwoman locked eyes with one another. "Dr. Drakken's old mountain lair. We must have destroyed this place several times, and he kept rebuilding it."

"Until Global Justice finally caught him for tax evasion." She said to him. "Everytime he built this place, he always put in safe guards to make sure that no one knew where he was. Even down to the very rock this place is built out of. I figured some of it must still work. J'onn gave me the brief explanation. How bad is it?"

"Bad. I hope you can explain everything else." Batman growled. Even though he did his best to hide all emotion from his voice, she could tell he was upset.

"I can; but after J'onn and Diana get here." She told him.

"We're already here." Diana said as she entered with J'onn entering in his true Martian form.

"Good. I have a lot to tell all of you."

"Then wait until we're all here. There are more coming." J'onn said.

"What do you mean more?" Batman asked him.

"I decided to call in the Calvary." J'onn said.

Within moments, a sound that almost sounded like a fierce wind seemed to approaching. And it was getting louder by the second. Within a moments, a crimson blur came into the room with a large wind behind it as it came to a full stop. Before them was a thin man clad in a strange red bodysuit. A pair of crimson gloves, that seemed to be made out of the same material as his jump suit, covered both of his hands. Both gloves had gold lightning bolts encircling the gloves at the forearm, almost like they were keeping them attached to the suit. A gold lightning bolt-shaped belt encircled his waist as well, and a pair of yellow boots on his feet. The red mask that completely covered his head also seemed to have two strange lightning bolts on each side, where his ears would be. On his chest was a white circle with a gold lightning bolt streaking across it.

"Is this where the party is?" he asked them.

"Who are you? Lightning Lad?" Superwoman asked as she took in the outfit he was wearing.

"Actually, everyone calls me The Flash." He said with a smirk.

"I heard of you. You're the vigilante from Central City." A feminine voice said as she entered the room. Besides the large mace that hung from her belt, the main thing everyone noticed about her were the large pair of wings that extended from her bare back.

"Wow, a real angel." The Flash said in awe as he saw the very formfitting green leather pants and the yellow breastplate that almost seemed to be molded perfectly to her body. A large bronze helmet hid her upper face, but allowed her red hair to flow freely from the back.

"I'm Thanagarian. My name is Shayera Hol. Now can someone tell me why I'm here?"

"Same here. All of a sudden, I just felt like I had a strong urge to be here." The Flash said.

"In do time. We're still missing one other person." J'onn said to them.

"What in the?" Flash asked as he got a good look at J'onn.

"Long story." Superwoman said to him. "Who else is supposed to be here?"

"Me." A weak voice said as he entered, causing a few to gasp. His uniform was in one piece again, but his arm was in a cast and being supported by a sling. His face was covered in several bruises, and his domino mask couldn't completely cover the black eye that was covering his left eye. As he limped inside, they could see a knee brace wrapped around his right knee and did little to help him.

"Lantern!" Shayera said as she got a good look at him. "What happened to you?" she asked him.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He said to her.

"Was it three super powered people, and a cyborg?" Superwoman asked him.

"The ones that took over the White House?" the Flash asked.

"That's them. The cyborg knew how to beat my ring and didn't even break a sweat when he thrashed me. I'm just trying to figure out how."

"One question at a time. And we start by asking Superwoman where she's been." Batman said, causing all eyes to fall on her.

"For starters, the three people you faced weren't humans. They were Kryptonians." She said and saw the surprise in everyone's face, except Batman.

"I thought you were the last of your kind." Diana said.

"So did I. When Batman saw that there were two speed trails similar to mine, I remembered something in a message from my father told me. A warning about two escaped Kryptonian criminals. So I went to the only obvious place they could be hiding." Superwoman said.

"Which was?" Shayera asked.

"A hidden fortress in the Antartic. Judging by the design and technology, it's Kryptonian as well." Batman said.

"You've been to my fortress?" Superwoman asked him.

"I had to go." He said to her, but his eyes spoke volumes.

"So, what happened when you got there?" the Flash asked.

It took a while for Superwoman to explain everything to the gathered heroes. She told them of everything. From Zod being freed, to how she escaped from the Phantom Zone. It was a little hard for her to explain what happened to Zaltar, but she was able to get through it. When she finished, most of them couldn't believe what they had heard.

"Okay, this is way past my weird-o-meter. Phantom Zones, living ghosts? This sounds more like a comic book story." The Flash said.

"Actually, it makes since." Green Lantern said as he propped himself against a wall to put pressure off of his leg. "A couple of years ago, the Guardians found technology to access a place that was known as the Phantom Zone. They never said where they got the technology, but they started putting some of the worst scum the Corp ever faced in there. Including a former Green Lantern called Sinestro. That might be how they learned to beat my ring." He said.

"The criminal you imprisoned. Sinestro. Did he know of your ring's flaw?" J'onn asked.

"Out of all the people in the Corp, he might have been the only one. He was the best of the best." He said.

"Then why did you imprison him?" Diana asked.

"Because he used his ring to become a ruthless dictator on his home world. No one knew about it until a rookie Lantern discovered his secret. After that, he was thrown into the Phantom Zone." He said.

"So not only is this guy as strong as red here, and has two super powered thugs; but he knows how to kick your ass too?" the Flash asked him.

"Pretty much." The Lantern said.

"So what can we do?" Diana asked.

"Pick out our funeral plots?" Flash offered.

"I'll be damned before I ever bow to a dictator; no matter what world I'm on." Shayera said as she grasped her mace firmly.

"Nor will I. I will gladly fall in battle before I let any evil decide my fate." Diana said.

"Oh, real smart. Go charging in with all guns blazing and bite it just like Butch and Sundance. Yeah, that's a brilliant idea." Flash said.

"I'm all ears if you have a better one." Shayera growled as she stood nose to nose with Flash.

"He's got a point. We need some plan of attack." Green Lantern said.

"This from the man that was defeated as soon as the battle had started." Diana said.

"At least I know how much punishment I can take, powder puff. This is the first time I've ever heard of you. What's wrong? Scared you're going to break a nail?"

"I'll gladly show you how much I know in the art of combat." Diana growled at him.

All their bickering stopped when what sounded like a thunderclap, or an explosion, echoed loudly through out the lair and forced them all to cover their ears in pain. As they looked up, they saw that Superwoman, by clapping her hands together hard, had caused the deafening sound wave. As she lowered her hands, a serious and very stern look was on her face. Only the Batman could have made such an intimidating look.

"Our world is threatened by four of the most powerful beings on Earth, and the only thing you all can do is bicker like a bunch of spoiled brats?" Superwoman asked loudly, her voice echoing through out the room. "There are people out there that are either dying or dead because of them. People we have sworn to protect! So if all of you are done with your little pissing contest, I say it's about time that we finally figure out how to take these bastards down." She said and saw that they all were bowing their heads, all of them looking like a whipped puppy.

"Do they have any weaknesses at all?" Shayera asked.

"There's only one thing I know of that can stop them. Kryptonite." Superwoman said.

"Krypto what?" the Flash asked.

"Kryptonite. It's pieces of their home world that's been bombarded with radiation. It's harmless to humans at a point, but it's lethal to any being from Krypton." J'onn said.

"Is there someplace we can get it?" Lantern asked.

"Not that I know of. The one piece I do know about was being used to power Metallo. But I don't know where he is." Superwoman said.

"There's also something else. Kryptonians gain their abilities from our sun's radiation. If they were exposed to red solar rays, it would render them powerless." Batman said.

"Great idea. I'll just run down to the store and see if they have any red UV lamps. But I'm pretty sure that they're sold out." The Flash said.

"I have one." Batman said, causing all of them to look at him. "It's been modified as a weapon, and can fire it as a concentrated beam of energy. If I can hit them with it, it should give us a large enough window to take them down." Batman said as he noticed the questioning look from Superwoman.

"Sounds like a plan so far. Now we just need to figure out how to distract them and where." J'onn said.

"We already know the where. Tomorrow night, Zod will address the world in Metropolis as the new ruler of the world. That's also when the virus will be finished infecting all computer systems." Batman said.

"But why Metropolis?" Lantern asked.

"Because he thinks I'm still in the Phantom Zone. And since Metropolis is my home, he wants to show everyone that he's already beaten me." Superwoman said.

"So we know the where and the when. Now we just need a plan." Diana said.

"The plan is to give Batman enough time to get a shot in while we make sure others don't get hurt. Diana, myself, and J'onn will try to distract them while the rest of you make sure the innocents don't get hurt." Superwoman said.

"I'm a fighter, and I don't do crowd control." Shayera said.

"That's why you're going to have to take out Brainiac for us. We'll be too busy just trying to handle Zod and the others." Superwoman said to her.

"I think I can handle that." Shayera said with a smirk.

"Then we'll all meet in Gotham City at dusk tomorrow, and head to Metropolis from there. That will give us time to get everything ready. Don't say anything to anyone. Zod doesn't know we're coming, and he doesn't know Superwoman has returned. The element of surprise is essential." Batman said.

"Agreed. But what happens if we need to contact each other?" Lantern asked.

"Batman is working on that. Until then, I can relay any messages to one of the others until then." J'onn said.

"Which brings me back to my question. What are you?" the Flash asked him.

"My name is J'onn J'onzz. I am the last Martian." He said to him.

"No offence J'onn, but you might want to think of a disguise. People don't react well to an alien that's – well," Superwoman told him.

"You're probably right. I guess for now," J'onn said as he began to shift his shape again until he looked like a bald, well built, green human. He wore a dark blue body suit, with a red belt around his waist with the symbol of mars as its buckle. He also had what looked to be two red straps going over his chest, forming an X while two gold medallions kept his blue cape attached to the rest of the uniform near his collar bone. "This will have to do." He said.

"I think it fits." Lantern said as they all began to leave.

As Batman began to make his way out, he felt Superwoman's firm grip on his shoulder to stop him. When it was just the two of them again, he turned to face her.

"Do you mind telling me why you have a machine that you can use against me?" she asked him.

"It was a back up, KP." He said to her.

"A back up?"

"In case you ever went rogue." He said to her.

"Rogue? You honestly think I would go against what I believe in?" she asked him.

"One thing I've learned from life Kim, is that you have to expect the unexpected." He said to her.

"It sounds more like you don't trust me." She said to him.

"We don't have time to discuss this now." He said to her and turned to leave, only to find her in front of him.

"Ron. Do you, or do you not, trust me?" she asked him. He just stood there, silent and as still as a statue as Kim just kept looking into his eyes. Slowly, her face started to look hurt as he didn't answer her. The silence spoke volumes to her. "Ron?"

"I don't trust anyone anymore, Kim." He said to her.

For a moment, she looked as is he had just slapped her in the face. After all their time together and everything they had ever been through, it hurt to hear those words coming from him. This was her best friend and lover. She would trust him with her life in a heart beat.

"But I do trust you, Kim." He said. "I don't know what would happen if I ever lost you. I just – I don't know what's out there and – and I wanted to be more safe than sorry. But you're the only one I trust anymore, Kim. Only you." He said to her.

For the next few minutes, nothing was said between them. Only silence. Kim finally looked into his eyes again and tried to speak, but nothing would come out. Instead, she did the only thing she could. She held onto Ron as tightly as she could, and felt him embrace her in return.

"We still have a lot to talk about." She said to him.

"I know."

"But you're right. Now's not the time." She said to him. "I have to stop at the Fortress and get something. When I'm done, I'll meet you at the cave and help you with whatever you need." She said to him.

"Then we better hurry. I still need time to get everything ready." He said as they both left what was left of the old lair.

**

* * *

**

GOTHAM CITY

Zod, Ursa, and Non approached the large building with Brainiac in the lead. This building didn't look important enough to warrant his attention, nor did he know why his servant would want to bring him here. The place seemed dirty, Gothic, and at the same time was also very orderly. What a strange place this was. Humans were so odd to them.

"Why have you brought me here, servant?" Zod asked Brainiac.

"We're here because of what you told me earlier. You said you used your strength of force to intimidate these humans. And if you remember, the President did say that there were others on this world that would never bow to you." The machine said to him.

"I remember. But these primates will soon look the error and futility in their ways." Zod said to him.

"Of course, my Lord. But we need a show of force to keep others in line. After hours of research, I learned that some of the most feared and hated are housed within this facility. Using them as our own personal storm troopers may prevent others from rebelling against your rule in the future." He said as the three spheres began to become alight again. "The inmates of Arkham Asylum will do quite nicely." Brainiac said as his chest peeled away to reveal the machinery beneath had shifted and transformed into a large energy cannon.

With one massive energy bolt, the center of Arkham Asylum exploded into a massive fireball before the next several feet collapsed in on itself from the massive attack. As the canon began to shrink back into the machine's chest, several voices could be heard as the inmates began to step out of the massive cloud of dust. The first was a man with several scars all over his body, like he had been using his body as a scoreboard. The next was a large creature that almost seemed like a reptilian man, with his teeth filled down into points. Several others emerged from the dust, with one laughing insanely as he was accompanied by a blond doctor.

"That's what I call starting things with a bang." He said with a chuckle as he wiped dirt from his pale white face.

"These creatures are to be my storm troopers?" Zod asked the living machine that stood next to him.

"Yes, my Lord. Each are notorious for their methods of – extermination." Brainiac said.

"Then let us begin." Zod said and stepped forward.

"Hey, Joker! Looks like the circus is in town!" the large reptilian man said to the pale figure.

"Looks more like a reject from a Battlestar Galatica convention." Joker said.

"I am General Zod, your new ruler. I have come here with an offer for you." The man said.

"Sorry, but we don't like authority figures." One inmate said as he tried to attack Zod, but soon found Zod's hand firmly wrapped around his neck.

"I have hears that you are the most feared and despised in this city. Because of this, I have decided to select you as my personal guards. If you accept, your rewards shall be great." Zod said to them.

"And if we refuse?" the man with scars asked him.

Zod looked at the man that was squirming in his grip, trying to get free. Zod continued to look at the squirming man, even as the man started to moan in pain and try even harder to break free. Soon, the inmate was screaming in absolute pain as his body began to smoke, and his skin began to burn and blister. Within moments, the inmate was completely engulfed in flames as his pain became worse and worse. His screams finally stopped as his form went limp in Zod's hands. Soon, there was nothing left of the inmate but a burning pile of black ashes as Zod dusted the remains from his hand. He looked back at the inmates that just looked at what was left of the man in horror.

"Who among wishes to decline my offer?" he asked them.

"What do you want us to do first, boss?" the reptile man asked him.

"Swear loyalty to Zod."

* * *

"ANDERSON!" Sherri shouted as Mercy wheeled her into the lab in a wheel chair.

Sherri had to hold onto Mercy while she climbed down the emergency ladder that was built into the elevator shaft. They had almost slipped several times, but they had made it to the elevator. After prying the elevator doors open, Mercy was able to carry Sherri to the lower labs through the stairwell, and into the lab that housed Metallo. At that moment, her guards were lining the vault that housed the chunk of Kryptonite with C4. Since the vault locks were operated by computers, and theirs were down, they needed a faster and a more direct approach to get the power source out. But Sherri had more pressing concerns as she looked for the lunatic scientist she had put in charge of this lab.

"ANDERSON, WHERE ARE YOU?!" Sherri screamed.

"Enough with the shouting! My ears it hurts! Oh, the stinging!" the crazy man said as he walked out from behind a terminal.

"I need Project Bizarro online, NOW!" Sherri shouted.

"Well, there's a small problem with. Yes, quite right." He said.

"Problem?"

"Well, the computers have been malfunctioning. She's still getting air and her nutrients since the power systems are unaffected. But with no computers, - I'm afraid I can't get her out. Yes, quite right." Dr. Anderson said.

"Really?" Sherri asked as she looked at the Superwoman clone floating in the fluid filled tank. "Mercy, get me my easy button." Sherri said to her.

Mercy walked to where the elevator entrance stood while Dr. Anderson looked on in confusion. Mercy pushed a small console aside and opened a small secret door that had been hidden there. Within a minute, Mercy returned and handed Sherri what seemed to be a miniature bazooka.

"If you want to get her out, you just do this." Sherri said as she aimed and fired.

The recoil sent Sherri's wheelchair rolling backwards until she crashed into a console. The small missile she fired exploded against the tank, shattering the glass and letting all the fluid fall to the floor. While Mercy and Anderson were cautiously looking up and coughing from the smoke, Sherri pushed herself to where the clone was lying on the floor. Falling out of the chair and onto her knees, she turned the clone onto her back and removed the mask. The clone was breathing, but she wasn't awake.

"Come on." Sherri said and slapped it across the face. "Come one, you bitch. WAKE UP!" Sherri shouted and slapped it across the face even harder, but still nothing. With a loud growl of frustrated anger, she slapped the clone across the face as hard as she could.

The clone's eyes shot open wide, revealing a look of pure terror in her jade green eyes.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS, MARTIAN!" she screamed as she bolted upward, gasping for breath. It took her a few moments for her to realize she wasn't where she thought she was. When her eyes fell on Sherri, her eyes began to narrow as she recognized her.

"I remember you. The glow worm from Bueno Nacho." She said.

"Glad to see your memory works." Sherri said as Mercy helped her back into her wheel chair.

"You've got five seconds to explain where the hell I am before I start breaking bones." The red head said as she tried to stand, but found that her legs felt like they had been asleep for hours. "What the hell?" the clone asked herself.

"I've got news for you, bubble butt. That Bueno Nacho incident? That was ten years ago." Sherri said.

"Bull Sh,"

"I'm not kidding. Besides, what's the last thing you remember?" Sherri asked her.

"That detective. He'd been tracking me for a while. Sorry bastard poisoned me with soda." She said.

"That was eight years ago. If I hadn't gotten a hold of what was left, you'd still be a dead pile of goo right now." Sherri said.

"Not to mention I corrected that problem with the soda." Dr. Anderson said.

"Eight years?" she asked, and saw Sherri shake her head yes. "Then why the hell did you bring me back?" the clone growled.

"I created you in case of an emergency. And right now, the shit just hit the fan." Sherri said as she looked at the naked clone in front of her.

* * *

With a brief gust of her breath, the glowing hot metal cooled and kept the two pieces of steel in place. Satisfied with the weld, Kim hovered back down to the floor where she saw Ron and Wade wiring some of the electronics.

"Don't you think this thing is a little overboard?" Kim asked him.

"If you ask me, it's not enough." Ron said as he and Wade finished soldering the last few wires together and stood. "I came up with this thing if you had gone rogue. I don't know if it'll be able to stand up against three Kryptonians." Ron said as Wade went to the computer and did a systems check.

"It better be. If you can't get them with that weapon you put in this thing, I don'' know if we'll be able to stop them." Kim said as she took a look at the now finished machine in front of them. She was amazed at what Ron and Wade had been able to put together in such short time. She knew Ron had potential in him all along, she just wished it had taken him something else to use it.

"Does everything check out, Wade?" Ron asked him.

"Everything's in the green. All she needs is a field test." Wade said.

"She'll get that soon enough." Ron said as he took one more look at it.

"Do you think we can pull it off? With only a handful of us?" Kim asked him.

"I wish I knew." Ron said as he began walking to the sealed vault that housed the bat suit.

"RON! WADE! KIM!" Dick shouted as he and Helena bounded down the stairs from the mansion above.

"What's wrong, guys?" Kim asked as they ran up to them.

"The bad men broke Arc-ham." Helena said.

"Do what?" Wade asked them.

"It's all over the news. Those four weirdoes just destroyed part of Arkham and set the lunatics free." Dick said.

"Oh my God." Wade said and rushed to the computer to try and find out any information he could get. "Why would Zod want to let a bunch of criminals loose?"

"Bodyguards. He's expecting an attack." Ron said as he began to fit the body armor on.

"It makes since. Zod was one of the most brilliant strategist's on Krypton." Kim said.

"Which ones did Zod free?" Ron asked as he placed on his cowl and emerged in his bat suit.

"All of them." Wade said.

"You're joking." Kim said.

"I wish I were. The Joker, Scarecrow, Killer Croc, Saaz. Every single psycho we put away is now on the loose." Wade said grimly.

"So we better hope our gambit pays off." Ron said as he walked to the machine. "It's time to meet the others, KP. Are you ready?" he asked her.

"As ready as I'm ever going to be." She said as she saw Ron step into the machine.

* * *

The sun had set almost an hour ago as the five waited on top of Gotham Police Headquarters. The bat signal was shining brightly as it cast the symbol of its lone guardian over the heart of the city, while the rest were doing their best to alleviate any left over hints of anxiety. Lantern was leaning against the wall of the stairwell while Flash began to pace. Shayera was looking out over the skyline of the city while Diana kept looking at the bat signal as glowed in the sky. J'onn had been looking out at the city with Shayera until he noticed Diana.

"Is everything all right, Diana?" he asked her.

"It's just so – strange. You and this Batman are nothing like the men my people and I have been brought up to believe in."

"Everything is not as it always seems, Diana." J'onn said.

"I know. But Batman confuses me, though." She said.

"How?" Shayera asked her.

"From what I've seen, he isn't like us. He has no abilities like the rest of us. But he always put himself in danger to help others. Why?" she asked.

"Actually, that's a good question. Why does he do all this?" Flash asked.

J'onn let out a deep sigh when he saw that the others looked to him, and wondered if he should answer their question or not. Ron and Kim had become two of the closest friends he had made on this world, and it should be up to them on how much they should reveal to the others. But if they were going to fight along side with him and his friends, they deserved to know something.

"Something happened to him, a long time ago. Something bad. Now he wants to make sure that no one else will ever have to suffer as he has." J'onn said.

"That's it? Come on. There's gotta be something more than,"

"If you want to know more, you'll have to ask him." J'onn said, interrupting Flash. He had already said more than he was supposed to.

"Now that we have that out of the way, I have one more question. Where is he, and Superwoman?" Shayera asked them.

"We're right here." Superwoman answered as she landed on the roof in front of him.

"Where's Batman?" Lantern asked.

"Right here." A deep, cybernetic voice answered. They all turned to see a large ten foot robot land on the roof, with its black metal exterior shining almost like a jewel in the light. The shape and form almost looked like a giant version of Batman, with two glowing holes in the head that almost looked like eyes.

"Holy Iron Man, Batman." Flash said, earning confused looks from everyone. "It was the only thing I could think off." Flash said.

"Thank you all for coming. But I'm afraid we have some bad news. The stakes have just gotten higher." Superwoman said.

"What do you mean?" Diana asked.

"A few hours ago, Zod and his men destroyed Arkham Asylum. They took several inmates with them on their way back to Metropolis." Batman said.

"We think he's using all the criminally insane inmates as his own personal bodyguards." Superwoman said.

"How many are we talking about?" Shayera asked.

"A lot. And that's including the costumed ones." Superwoman said and saw some of the frowns that had begun to form.

"Great. As if this wasn't going to be hard enough." Flash said to himself.

"So do we stick to the plan or what?" Lantern asked them.

"I'm not sure. We have to try and keep the innocents safe, that's our main goal. But we still have to try and give Ron a clear shot to use the solar cannon on them. The rest, - I guess we'll have to improvise." Superwoman said.

"But you also mean that there's a good chance that we may not walk away from this. Aren't you?" J'onn asked her. The silence that fell upon the group was almost deafening. Superwoman bit her lip as she looked to all of them. She knew the odds weren't in their favor, but there was no one else to stop General Zod.

"I know I'm asking a lot from all of you. I wish I could guarantee that we'll all get through this; but the truth is that I don't know if we'll even live to see tomorrow. But the fate of the world is at stake. But I know that when you decided to put on your uniforms, you knew there was a chance they'd be the last thing you'd ever wear. But this is bigger than all of us. It won't be easy, but at least we can say that we stood up for what we believed in. And our beliefs are something no one can take away." She said to them.

"Did you have to work on something that corny, or does it just come to you?" Flash asked, and earned a slap upside the head from Green Lantern.

"Okay, bottom line. Zod wants to conquer the world, and he'll kill anyone who so much as tells him to piss off. Now, you all have a choice. You can run away and hide, and hope you can live a normal life under the rule of an intergalactic dictator. Or you can show that you deserve to be called heroes, and help me kick that son of a bitch's ass." She said with a look of a pissed tiger that was ready to go in for the kill.

"We Amazons are warriors born. Of course I'm with you." Diana said as she walked to Superwoman, both clasping each other by the forearm firmly.

"I haven't had a decent battle ever since I came to this world. Count me in. Shayera said and stood beside him.

"I've already lost one home world. I will not stand aside and loose another." J'onn said.

"What about you two?" Superwoman asked Flash and Green Lantern.

"Hey, I'm in." he said, and earned a surprised look from Shayera and Diana. "What? I know I joke around, but I'm serious when about being a superhero."

"And it's my responsibility to make sure Earth is safe in the first place." Lantern said.

"There's one problem, though." Batman said.

"What's that?" J'onn asked.

"Shayera, J'onn, and Diana we'll need code names. I don't think it's a good idea for them to reveal their true identities." Batman said.

"Good idea." Superwoman said.

"How about we call the chick with wings Bird Lady, and the hottie Wonder Chick?" Flash asked, and earned a death glare from Shayera. "Or maybe not."

"Actually, he isn't that far off. When my mother had to venture to Man's World to stop Hades, a group of heroes called her Wonder Woman. I would be honored to take up her mantle." Diana said.

"That's one down. Now that just leaves Hawk Girl." Lantern said as Shayera's eyes slightly widened.

"I think we can use that one, too. Shayera?" Superwoman asked and noticed the slight blush in her face.

"I – think I can live with that." She said.

"What about you, J'onn? Do you have anything in mind?" Superwoman asked him.

"How about the Martian Manhunter?" Flash asked.

"I actually like the sound of that." J'onn said with a small smile as Shayera walked over to the injured Lantern.

"That name you just gave me. Where did you hear it?" she whispered to him.

"Let's just say Stewart likes to talk after a few drinks." Lantern said as saw the angry look in the Thanagarian's eyes.

"I'm going to ring that Marine's neck." She growled to herself.

"Now that we have our nick names picked out, how about go show that alien Napoleon what humans are made of?" Flash asked.

"Agreed. The sooner we leave the better." Superwoman said and launched herself into the air.

As Superwoman led the way to Metropolis, she was soon joined by Hawk Girl, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Martian Manhunter, and Batman as he piloted the suit while Flash kept up with them along the ground. Zod was about to learn what Earthlings had to offer. At that moment, they were no longer just separate heroes. They were a team that had a purpose. They were the Earth's guardians. They were Justice.


	18. Battle for Metropolis

Invincible 

By FAH3

Normally, the center of Metropolis was almost as equal to the normal night life of New York Cities Times Square. The flashing advertisements trying to capture people's interest in a certain product while various shops and clubs tried to lure people in with what wonders lay inside. However, that normal routine had come to a screeching halt as the small army of insane lunatics began clearing the street and destroying anything the got in their way. While the many civilians were running for their lives and screaming in absolute terror, most of the invading horde was laughing in delight and amusement by the panic they were causing. Several storefront windows were soon shattered while the interior of others were set a blaze. Several cars lay in burning ruins while several people, some injured, were being maneuvered and shoved into various locations in the center of the city. Being pushed and thrown about as if they were cattle that were waiting for the slaughter.

The large creature that was known as Killer Croc, who was once the mutant known as Gill and then a famous wrestler, was enjoying himself as he scared people to the point that they were wetting themselves. He would deliberately snap at them, almost ripping flesh from bone with his sharp teeth. Every so often, he would draw a small amount of blood and would slowly lick his teeth like he was deciding which snack he would feast on first. Not even the police officers that were also in the various groups would even try to raise a gun to Killer Croc. The last one that tried, Croc had bitten his arm hard enough that he broke the bone and almost ripped the limb off of the rest of the officer. He enjoyed causing so much fear and suffering. He always had.

The Joker on the other hand was having enormous amounts of fun at causing the pure anarchy and chaos in the city. His burning red eyes and hideous smile seemed to almost glow in the light of the various fires as he gazed at the people screaming in terror with his green hair falling in front of his face. Causing various explosions and laughing like there was no tomorrow, he felt like a kid that had just been locked inside of a Chuck E Cheese with all the free pizza and tokens that ever existed. A brief chuckle escaped his lips as he dropped a bomb into the entrance of a subway, and laughed loudly as it exploded in a massive fireball. As he was walking back to one of the groups, he one couple huddled near one building. The woman was crying uncontrollably as the man glared at him with nothing but pure hatred.

"You look nervous. Is it the scars?" he asked, pointing to his hideous smile with a knife that slipped out of his sleeve and into his hand.

"Go screw yourself." The man said.

"A little fight in you. I like that. Tell me, have you ever danced with the devil by the pale moon light?" Joker asked as he began walking closer to the man with the knife held high.

"JOKER!" Brainiac shouted, making the pale faced man turn. "We have no time for that."

"You know, you really are a spoil sport." Joker growled.

"Later, Joker." Brainiac said and began to walk away.

"What crawled up his ass?" Joker asked as he walked away. His smile broadened however when the man turned back to the woman, and saw that the Joker had slashed her throat when he hadn't been looking. The smile turned into a chuckle as the man began screaming in agonizing grief.

Soon, countless people were herded into the heart of Metropolis. Almost all of them were screaming in terror or begging to be let go as the Arkham inmates kept them in line. The raving maniacs were having a field day as they terrified the innocents to keep them in line, while the Joker was doing his best not to cause his own unique kind of chaos. But every few of the panicked citizens would suddenly have their smiles widened. The chaos soon ended when one of the large jumbo-tron screens exploded in a shower of electrical sparks.

The crowd gazed upward at what was left of the once glowing sign, and saw three people floating downward and stopped in the middle of the sparking device. As they floated, one other shirtless peron appeared with three glowing green orbs on his forehead that made the shape of a triangle pointing downward. Two large metal tentacles shot out of his arm and plunged into the sparking sign, and caused it to glow with life. Within moments, a large, strange stylized Z was in the middle of the screen as two of the floating people landed on the ground. As they looked upon the crowd, a strong feeling of accomplishment washed over Ursa. After so many years of waiting, their vision of a true Krypton would finally be realized.

"EVERYONE BOW TO YOUR NEW EMPEROR!" Ursa shouted at the crowd as loud as she could, but no one did as they were told. "I SAID," she started and stomped the ground as hard as she could, causing it to shake violently. "KNEEL BEFORE YOUR NEW MASTER!" Ursa shouted.

Not wanting to anger this woman any further, the gathered people quickly fell to their knees before the powerful quartet. The sight of the intimidated and terrified humans brought a large smile to the three's face as Zod landed. He couldn't be more pleased with himself.

"Brainiac. How long until the virus is finished?" Zod asked the machine.

"Only a few more minutes, my Lord." He answered.

"Excellent." Zod said as he took a few steps forward and addressed the humbled crowd. "The dawning of a new age is upon us all! This poor and pitiful excuse for a world as you have known it will be washed away as my reign begins. You should all be joyous that you will live to see the rebirth of not just your land, but your planet. Forever more, you shall remember this day." Zod said.

"What gives you the right to decide that?" one man shouted from the crowd.

Zod's scowl almost seemed to give off cold air as he gazed at the man that had spoken to him. Faster than a speeding bullet, Zod was in front of the man and lifted him by the throat. The man began trying to gasp for air as Zod's grip began to crush the bones in his neck.

"You dare speak to me in such a tone?" Zod asked as the man began turning purple. "What gives me the right? All through your idiotic history, your race has been determined to do nothing but destroy what you create. Your stupidity gives me the right to change your world." Zod said ad began to tighten his grip ever so slightly. "But now, you will not leave to see it." Zod growled.

"OVER MY DEAD BODY!" a voice shouted, causing Zod to freeze in place.

"It can't be." He said to himself.

Zod turned to face where the voice had come from. He was immediately slammed directly in the face by a fist with enough force to equal that of a shell being fired from the gun of a World War II battleship. The blow forced Zod to loose his grip on the man he had been holding as he was sent flying upward, crashing through the twenty-fifth floor of the skyscraper behind him. Zod couldn't make out that much as he tumbled, rolled, and crashed through one wall and found himself crashing through another, falling to the street below and causing part of the asphalt to break and sink inward. Zod rose to his feet as gingerly clutched the side of his face as he began to feel a lump form. With utter rage and distain in his eyes, he gazed back to where he was and see who would dare attack him. His eyes widened at what he saw, floating above the man he had been trying to kill only moments earlier.

"Kara!" he said as both glared at each other.

"The whelp?!" Ursa demanded in utter shock.

"Sorry I'm late, but traffic was a nightmare." Kara said with a smug grin that enraged the general even more.

"GET HER!" Zod shouted as loud as he could.

Ursa began flying toward Superwoman so she could pound her face into oblivion before something flew downward from the sky, grabbed her by the throat, and shoved her face into the street. Ursa soon found her self lifted from the broken asphalt and thrown into the side of a near by building as if she were nothing but a rag doll, with part of the wall collapsing on top of her. With a growl of anger, she rose to her feet and was confused by what she saw standing in front of her. In front of her was a woman with long flowing raven hair, and wearing very skimpy armor of red, blue, and gold. A gold tiara sat atop of her head with a golden rope by her side.

"What in Rao's name?" Ursa asked herself.

"If you want to find out what I am, then fight me." Wonder Woman said.

"With pleasure." Ursa said with a grin as both combatants charged each other.

Ursa's blow missed as Wonder Woman's fist collided with her chin, and then firmly struck her in the face with a powerful kick that sent her further back into the building Ursa had collided into.

Non watched as Wonder Woman flew into the building after Ursa to continue their fight. For some strange reason, Non was very excited to see the two women fighting. He just couldn't explain the why. He soon drew his attention back to his commander when he heard Zod bellow, "NON, YOU INGNORTANT NAT!" Non gazed at his leader and noticed how he was glaring daggers at him. "DON'T JUST STAND THERE! TAKE THE WHELP DOWN!" Zod ordered him.

Non turned to face Kara as he began to growl, ready to obey his master's orders without question. He stopped when he saw what seemed like a green ghost with a blue cape come out of the ground and solidify.

"If you want her, you'll have to get through me first." The green man said as his eyes began to glow red.

Non hurled what would have been a devastating punch at the green man, but found that the man had dodged, grasped him firmly, and hurled him into the ground back first. With a loud yell, Non grasped the green man's foot and quickly stood upright. With a roar of anger, he flung the man into the street and saw him fall into the subway below. A chuckle emerged from the bowels of his throat as he smiled with pride at what he had just done to his attacker. A pair of hands emerged from the ground beneath him and firmly grasped him around his ankles. Before he could even look down, Non was forcefully pulled through the concrete and into the subway below while taking a good chunk of the street with him.

"What's wrong, Zod? Too scared to fight me yourself?" Superwoman asked him.

"Scared?" Zod asked, acting like she had just spit in his face. "I'll show you who's scared, you damned little pup!" Zod shouted and launched himself at her, colliding and both being flung deeper into downtown Metropolis.

"Whoa. Best fight I've seen since Rocky." Croc said. "So what do we do with the straights?" he asked aloud.

"We keep them here, and do not harm them. Yet." Brainiac said as the skin on his skull split to reveal the machinery and the glowing orbs, and his the skin on his left arm tore as the machinery beneath began forming an energy cannon. "I shall take care of Jor-El's daughter." Brainiac said as he began to walk towards the direction Zod and Superwoman had flown.

"LIKE HELL!" a woman screamed before Brainiac was bashed in the back of his head with something hard and electrified.

The blow sent him flying two feet before he crashed into the ground face first. He slowly rose to his feet as he did a quick systems check. The energy from whatever had hit him had frozen and briefly interfered with his programming. As he raised his head up, he saw a red blur had started taking down a few of the inmates while an injured Green Lantern to use his ring to get the citizens to safety or take down numerous psychotics at a time. His skin began to change its pigment again until he felt another blow to the head that sent him crashing through the front end of a parked mini van. There were only a handful of items that could scramble his programming and systems in such a way, and he only knew of a few of them. As he dislodged himself from what was left of the engine and frame of the mini van, he turned and saw a very upset Hawk Girl hitting her palm with the large metallic mace.

"A Thanagarian. This was unexpected." Brainiac said as he raised his arm and fired. Hawk Girl jumped, dodging the blast as she swooped down and bashed the cannon with the activated mace. The force of blow snapped the weapon from Brainiac's arm before it exploded from the energy overload. Brainiac gazed at his missing limb for a moment as he began to calculate. "Also unexpected." Brainiac said as the machinery under the skin and muscle generated three metal tentacles to replace the missing machinery.

"Are you going to stand there and play with yourself, or are you going to fight?" Hawk girl asked as she readied her mace.

"Then give me your best shot." The machine said as a coy smile appeared on his face.

* * *

"Time to have a little fun." The Joker said as he watched HAwk Girl and Brainiac fight.

"I doubt it." A deep voice said, making the Joker question his sanity even further.

When he turned, he looked up and was confused at what he saw in front of him.

"Someone's been watching Iron man too much." The Joker said to the giant Bat in front of him.

Two darts shot out from a shoulder mounted cannon and struck the Joker in the neck before he even knew what had hit him. He gengerly felt the two darts before he frowned at his foe. "You cheated." He said before he passed out.

"Get used to it." The Dark Knight said as his fist struck backwards and nailed Killer Croc in between the eyes and knocked him out cold.

"That had to hurt." Flash said as he and Lantern joined Batman.

"Start gathering the inmates. I'll help with the three ring leaders." Batman said before launching into the air.

* * *

Zod made contact with Superwoman, sending them both flying further into the heart f the city as they tumbled uncontrollably. As they tumbled end over end, both were trading blows as hard as they could. Superwoman was trying her best to stop his blows or deflect them, but half of them were getting through as she used any opening she could to try and force him off of her. Unaware of where they were going, the fighting duo soon ricocheted off the side of one of the many buildings and crashed into the street. Both went their separate ways, kicking up asphalt as if it were nothing more than dirt. Rising out of the crumbled black top, Zod glared at the young heroine as she stood as well.

"You had a chance at greatness, and you threw it away. You are as stupid as your pitiful excuse for a father." Zod said to her.

"And damn proud of it." Superwoman said.

"THEN DIE AS YOU DESERVE TO!" Zod roared and charged Superwoman again.

Zod was instantly met with a freezing gale that was stronger than any category four hurricane. As Superwoman kept blowing the steady rush of cold air, ice began form all over Zod's body and slow his attack. Soon, Zod was stuck in a block of ice from his neck down and stopped in his tracks.

"Very cute, Kara. But if you even hope to defeat me," Zod, said before he began tensing his body. In under a minute, Zod shattered the ice he had been trapped in, sending pieces of it everywhere. Superwoman had to use her heat vision to melt and vaporize as much of the frozen debris as she could before any of it could strike a gathered group of people near a bus stop. "You'll have to do so much better than that." He said to her, drawing her attention back to her Godfather.

Her eyes widened when she saw that he had lifted an eighteen-wheeler by it's front bumper, while it was still attached to a fully loaded trailer. Now he was hovering in the air with the trucks bumper in it's hand, and was starting to fling it over his head like a flail.

"Oh no you're n,"

The trailer was slammed down on top of Superwoman with tremendous force, causing the pavement to crack and make the ground tremble. Zod smiled as he saw the crumpled trailer not move or even twitch with any signs of movement. All was still. Even the crowd began to wonder if their protector had been killed. It was Zod's turn to question his sanity as he saw the trailer rise from the ground and become level in front of him. Underneath, Superwoman was the one that glared at him. She quickly backed out from under the trailer, and kicked the trailer as hard as she could with an echoing blow. The trailer struck Zod faster than a speeding locomotive, both flying half a mile before one end of the trailer hit one corner of a towering skyscraper. The blow forced the trailer to turn and caused both the trailer and Zod to strike against the side of the building before both bounced off and crashed into the street. In the time of a heartbeat, the trailer exploded in a massive fireball.

"What the hell was that thing carrying?" Superwoman asked herself.

* * *

Lantern almost had everyone away from the battle zone while the Flash was taking care of most of the inmates. He was moving so fast that they couldn't follow him or get a hit in. Every time he would run past one of the psychotics, he would land in a few blows before moving onto the next. Lantern just deposited a handful of people near a hospital and flying back to help Flash when he had to veer out of the way at the last second. He saw the Martian burst from out of the ground and crash into the conference room of the building beside him.

He could hear the shout of Non getting louder behind him, coming to finish the Martian off. Concentrating as hard as he could, Lantern spun and generated a battering ram the size of a humpback whale, and swung it directly into Non's face as hard as he could. Non shouted in surprise as he was flung across three city blocks and crashed into a radio tower, causing it to break away from it's mount and topple over.

"J'ONN!" Lantern shouted as he flew to the tower.

"I'm right behind you." The Martian said as he followed.

J'onn flew under the base and began to support it while Lantern used his ring to support the other end to try and level it out. They were able to slow the decent of the tower to an almost complete stop. As they began to try and raise the tower upwards, Non smashed through the center of the tower; breaking it in half. Lantern had to strengthen his concentration to capture the entire rig while J'onn was having trouble keeping his end leveled. With a feral growl, a blast of heat vision emerged from Non's eyes and ignited J'onn's right shoulder in flames.

Using Non's concentration to his advantage, Lantern slammed his end of the tower into Non and smashed both into the side of the building over and over again. Lantern pulled the tower back and saw Non lunge at him with a murderous rage. He was almost on top of the lantern when a glowing red beam of energy hit Non in the chest. Non quickly began loosing altitude as he went past Lantern and crashed through the window of the building across from them. Lantern looked up to see Batman hover down in his suit and extinguish the fire on J'onn's shoulder as he grimaced in pain.

"How bad is he hurt?" Lantern asked.

"Considering that he's vulnerable to fire, not that bad." Batman said as he flew past Lantern and into the hole Non had made.

There was the loud sound of a brief fight echoing from inside until Non was flung outside the window and came to a quick stop as the rope wrapped around him became tight. In the center of his chest was a strange device that was the size of a smoke alarm, and giving off a red light. Batman soon joined them and helped J'onn lower his half of the debris he had been carrying.

"What did you do to him?" J'onn asked Batman as they safely lowered what was left of the tower.

"I placed a miniature solar lamp on him. It emits the rays of a red sun instead of a yellow one. I don't have that many left though." Batman said.

"Where's Superwoman and Zod?" Lantern asked, before a giant explosion rocked the city, near Gough Tower. "Never mind." Lantern said as they flew toward the source of the explosion.

* * *

Wonder Woman crashed through the wall and into the back alley way before crashing into the front of the dumpster and massively denting it inward. Ursa stepped out of the whole in the wall and watched as the Amazon rose to her feet. Ursa couldn't help but be impressed by the young woman who had challenged her.

"You must be part Kryptonian. Not even the elite of our armies could stand up to half of the punishment I've given you." Ursa said.

"If that's the best you have, it's no wonder Kara's father was able to defeat you." Wonder Woman said.

"You insolent!" Ursa shouted as she went in for an attack, but was closed lined by Wonder Woman faster than she realized.

Ursa quickly kicked Wonder Woman in the knee, bringing her down almost instantly. Ursa quickly got back on her feet, grasped her opponent by her hair, and smashed her head into the brick wall beside them. Several more time she did this until the Amazon planted her elbow into Ursa's side, which caused her to loosen her grip. Wonder Woman leapt forward and supported her weight on her hands while she kicked Ursa in the face as hard as she could with both feet. Ursa flew out of the alley and crashed into the side of a Dodge Dart as it drove down the road, making the car skid sideways and crash into a GMC truck.

Ursa dismounted from the crashed vehicle and glared at the Amazon as she came walking out of the alley. Glancing downward, Ursa kicked up a manhole cover and caught it as it flew upwards. Ursa then used the iron disc and threw it at the Amazon's head. Wonder Woman sidestepped and caught the disk, adding more momentum to it as she spun and hurled it back towards the Kryptonian woman. The cover struck Ursa in the head and bounced off of it like t was a giant super ball. Ursa was slightly dazed from the impact and did block the barrage of punches and kicks the warrior princess began to pelt her with. Ursa's head was starting to swim as each blow seemed to become harder and harder. It was impossible for a human to attack like this.

Ursa ducked and missed Wonder Woman's next blow, and firmly planted a blow upward towards Diana's diaphragm. Diana clutched her midsection as she tried to regain her breath as she felt pain burn through her. Ursa grabbed her by the back of the neck as she saw a large cement truck barreling down the open lane of traffic. She shoved the Amazon's head in it's path, intending to watch the gladiator become mangled. She suddenly felt a blow to the side of her face that felt like she was hit with a two-ton weight, causing her to stagger backwards and stumble onto her backside.

Diana saw Ursa reeling from the blow, and turned to see a young black woman wearing a sleeveless orange bodysuit, with a plunging v neckline and orange clawed gloves that went to her mid biceps.

"How did you?" Diana started to ask.

"Let's just say it was a lucky charm." The young woman said as she tapped a strange necklace that hung around her neck and helped the Amazon to her feet.

"It doesn't matter how many there are of you. You will all kneel before Zod before I snap your necks." Ursa growled, ready for another round.

"I'll handle this." The young woman said as she touched the necklace and whispered something. The young woman charged Ursa, ducked the kick Ursa launched at her, and backhanded her with such force that it sent Ursa flying across the street, and through the bottom floor of a building before she tumbled to a stop.

"By Hera." Wonder Woman said in amazement as she wiped away the blood from a split lip. "How are you able to use such strength?" she asked.

"I used my charm here to give me the strength of as blue whale instead of a rogue elephant. Excuse me for a moment." She said as she walked through the hole Ursa had made in the building, and found her moaning in pain. The young woman jumped and sat on Ursa's midsection, and smirked as Ursa let out all the air in her lungs as her eye bulged out of her head.

"Get – off – me." Ursa wheezed, weak from using so much of her powers and no sun to recharge her.

"Oh shut up." The young woman said as Wonder Woman joined her. "The name's Monique." The young woman said.

"Diana. I think I have something that might keep her in place." Diana said as she took the gold rope from her belt and began to bind Ursa with it as Monique stood up. "Now we need to find Kara and the others."

"Who?" Monique asked.

"Oh. The one you call Superwoman." She said before a large explosion rocked the city.

"I think we may have found her." They said as they made their way to the explosion's origin, dragging Ursa behind them.

* * *

The building shook from the blast outside. Bruno Manheim had been keeping tabs on the fight outside, or he should say fights. And it was a freaking war zone out there. If this nut job Zod wasn't going to destroy the city, then these super powered clown would while fighting them! The newly developed CSU was cracking down on Intergang, and that he could deal with. But if he had to deal with all these freaks, forget it! It wasn't worth it!

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you looked nervous Mr. Manheim." The man in the black suit said as he stood in the office calmly while the ground shook from the brawls outside.

"Get me out of here!" Bruno shouted at the man, holding onto his desk for dear life.

"I agreed to supply your organization with weapons, not help you." He said calmly.

"I'll do anything you want. Just get me out of here! I can't take this place anymore!" Bruno screamed.

"Anything?" the man asked.

"ANYTHING!" Bruno screamed.

"Excellent." He said as he pulled out what looked to be a sleek garage door opener. With the press of a button, There was a loud explosion of light that sounded like thunder and a tunnel of strange light in front of the man. "Coming?"

"W-what is that thing?" Bruno asked.

"You're escape route." The man said. "Coming?"

Without hesitation, Manheim took a running start and leapt through the tunnel of light. With a broad smile, the man in the black suit soon followed with the tunnel of light closing behind him.

* * *

As the smoke cleared from the trailer exploding, Kim could see Zod was still on his feet as he coughed the horrific smoke from his lungs. Flying toward him as fast as she could, Superwoman grabbed one car with her left hand by the bumper and another with her right. Zod turned to face Superwoman when she bashed both cars into him at once, sandwiching him in-between to hunks of steel and chrome. As she let the heaps fall aside, she could see Zod was slightly dazed from the sudden attack. Flying quickly. She was soon on top of him before she launched a swift and powerful kick to the underside of his chin with as much strength as she could muster. The blow catapulted Zod high into the air, crashing through several offices and layers of steel, plaster, and wood of the high rise building before crashing out the other side and fell fifteen stories to the street below. To say Zod was feeling slightly soar about now would have been a grave understatement.

Using his temporary weakness to her advantage, Superwoman swooped in and put Zod in a full nelson. Zod was struggling to break free of the hold she had him in, but she wasn't going to budge. She could hear Ron in his battle suit flying this way. Zod was struggling as hard as he could, almost breaking her hold. She just had to hold onto him for a little longer. Mentally, she let out a sigh of relief when she heard Ron land in his battle suit and the others landing behind him.

"BATMAN, SHOOT HIM WITH THE RAY!" she screamed as she turned him to face the Batman.

Batman was aiming the laser, and they could hear it charging. He only needed a few more seconds for the ray to get a full charge. Without any warning or any sound, two metal tentacles wrapped themselves around the arm mounted cannon and ripped it free from its mount before crushing it into a heap of twisted metal and sparking wires.

"A valiant effort, Batman. But I'm afraid it was in vain." Brainiac said as he reeled the tentacles in.

The flesh that had covered his left eye had been ripped away to expose the machinery underneath. There were cuts and bruises all over his body, with flesh missing in a few areas and exposing the blood covered machinery underneath. His left arm was gone, and replaced by the moving metal tentacles as the three spheres on his forehead were glowing brightly. While they looked at Brainiac in a combination of wonderment and horror, Zod was finally able to get a firm grasp on Superwoman and flung her over his head and into the pavement as hard as he could before stomping on her head firmly.

Ursa bashed her head against the back of Wonder Woman's and kicked Monique in the stomach, sending her flying away from her. Ursa was able to loosen the rope that bound her and quickly bashed Green Lantern and J'onn's heads together, knocking them out cold. Brainiac rushed Batman and flung him down the street before giving chase, removing the solar lamp that had been placed on Non's chest. He wasn't as strong as he was moments ago, but he had enough strength to snap the rope that he had been tied with. The Flash instantly started spinning around him, trying to create a vortex to suck out enough oxygen to knock him out. As they Flash began to circle, Non merrily stuck out his foot, causing the Flash to trip and fall over face first into the pavement before flipping onto his back, unconscious.

Superwoman dodged Zod's foot as it came hammering down into the ground, and punched him in between the legs as hard as she possibly could. As Zod fell to his knees in pain, Ursa and Non grabbed Superwoman by the arms and lifted her to her feet. Digging her feet in firmly, she flung her arms together and bashed the two Kryptonian thugs into each other. The next thing she saw was Zod's fist as it smashed her in the face and sent her flying seven feet backwards before she landed on her back. Before she could get up, she felt Zod's foot pressing down on her throat, almost cutting off her air supply as Non stood on one arm and Ursa stood on the other.

"I am proud of you, Kara. You proved to be a very formidable fighter. If he were still alive, I think even your father would be proud of you." Zod said to her.

"Then wait until you get a load of me." A voice said before a blur swooped out of the air knocked Zod back several feet. Facing the other two, wearing a black body suit that exposed her belly button, and a pair of heavy-duty combat boots was none other than Superwoman! "Confusing, isn't it?" she asked before she backhanded Ursa, and a metal fist bashed Non in the face

Superwoman stood to her feet, but she still couldn't believe it. It was Metallo and – herself? No, it couldn't be! The clone she had faced so many years ago?

"Are you just going to stand there powder puff, or are you going to help?" she asked as she bashed Ursa in the face again and kicked her in the stomach. Acting quickly, she charged Zod and immediately bashed him with a right hook.

"What in Rao's name are you?" Ursa demanded as she dodged a kick and swing from the young woman in front of her.

"I'm a clone, all right?" the young woman said as she narrowly missed a sweeping attack from Ursa.

The woman then shoved her elbow directly into Ursa's nose, breaking with a loud snap before spinning one kick into her throat and another into her chest. Ursa, using as much speed as she could, struck the young woman in the back of the neck before kicking her in the abdomen and another blow to the head. The young redhead looked up with a smirk and wiped away the small amount of blood that dripped from the corner of her mouth.

"Gee. That almost hurt." She said before striking Ursa directly in the chest and struck her in between the eyes with the heel of her palm.

As Ursa began to reel backwards, the young clone grabbed her by the hair with both hands and brought Ursa's face down on her knee as fast and as hard as she could. Another resounding crack echoed from the blow shattering the dictator's cheekbones. Ursa fell backwards onto her side as she grimaced in pain from the sudden attacks. With the grin never leaving her face, the clone reached down and grasped Ursa firmly by her ankle with one hand and by her hair with the other. The clone then began to spin around faster and faster until they were almost nothing more but a blur. The clone then flung Ursa upward and sent her crashing into the large neon Coca-Cola sign that hung at the top of one of the tall skyscrapers.

The sign exploded and shattered in a blast of sparks and broken neon as pieces began to shower over the street as sparks began shooting almost everywhere. Along with the broken neon came Ursa's almost lifeless body as she crashed through a parked cruiser. Walking over to her while humming an old O'Boyz tune, the clone flung the cruiser aside like it was a piece of paper and looked at the dazed Kryptonian.

"And unlike Super Bitch, I don't play fight with the kid gloves on." She said to her. That's when she began to feel strange and saw part of her skin turn pure white and begin to crack like stone. "Oh," she said before something struck her in the back of her neck with tremendous force. "shit." She said weakly before she collapsed into a heap.

"Apparently, you're not a good clone." Ursa said as Non helped her to her feet. "Where's the metal one?" Ursa asked the hulking behemoth. Non simply held Metallo's head to eye level with a grin., showing what he had used to knock the clone out.

"Excellent. Bring that and her with us. It's time we put that whelp in her place."

* * *

Zod crashed through the wall of the department store with a resounding thud, making all the citizens that had been hiding in there run away and scream in terror. With anger flowing through him, he spit out the tooth that had been knocked loose as Superwoman walked in to face him.

"You know, I should be thanking you right now." Superwoman said.

"Thanking me? For what?" he asked her.

"For years, I've had to watch everything I did. Acting like I lived in a world of cardboard because I might hurt someone. But I just realized two things. One, is that you can take it. And two, you haven't had that much exposure to yellow sunlight. But I grew up in it." She said with a very predatory, and very sinister, grin.

With her fist tightly balled, she struck Zod with an uppercut as hard as she could, making the punch echo like a cannon blast and sent him spiraling out of the store and into the air. Zod couldn't make heads or tails of anything as he flew through not one, but several buildings and was still gaining altitude. Zod plowed across on corner of a building, taking a large chunk of it with him, before Superwoman planted both feet firmly into his back and drove both of them into the subway below. Not allowing him anytime to recover, Kim grasped him by the collar of his chest plat, raised him high above her head, and bashed him in the face again.

Zod flew out from the layers of stone and concrete, and through three more buildings before he finally crashed into the ground. One eye was beginning to swell shut, and his nose and lip were bleeding like crazy. But he would not give up. This was his hour, and his moment of glory. No matter how much it hurt, he wouldn't fall. Superwoman landed in front of him with fists balled and her eyes hardened.

"Do you give up?" she asked him.

"Never." Zod answered.

"Then I guess I'm gonna – AAGGHH!" Superwoman screamed as she was shocked with a blinding amount of energy.

When the energy stopped she collapsed to her knees. She was panting as hard as she could, unable to believe how much pain she felt in that one shock. She looked up when she heard something fall, and was shocked to see Matallo's head had been tossed beside her. She turned and looked behind her while struggling to her feet, and saw Ursa and Non had drug the rest of the heroes she had teamed up with as well as her clone. Stepping right beside her was Brainiac; and what he dropped on the ground boiled her blood. It was the head of the battle suit, and the base of it was partially melted and smoldering.

"What happened?" Ursa asked.

"During the battle, it would seem I ruptured the power core of his suit. This was the only salvageable piece I could find."

"You bastard! I'll rip your," Kim said before Brainiac slapped her across the face.

"It is over, Kara. Your friends have failed, and you can not stop what I have put into motion." Zod said to her, earning a glare from her.

That's when the lights all over the city began to flicker rapidly, with half of the city going out. Various alarms were going off, and strange sounds coming from machines all over the world. When she turned to Zod, she saw him laughing like a mad man.

"The virus has finished its task. The world's machines are now slave to Zod." He said.

"What are you doing?" Superwoman asked him.

"Look in the skies above you. The machines these people have put above them." Zod said. Kim gazed upward, looking past the clouds and saw that the satellites weren't orbiting anymore. They were moving to new positions. Soon, several began emitting strange light and shot beams of energy directly at the planet.

"What have you done?" Superwoman demanded.

"My vision, Kara. The tera forming process our people used to make the planets Kandor and Argo habitable. Now, Krypton will truly be reborn. I have slaved these machines to do my bidding, and they are now transforming this world." Zod said.

"But that will kill thousands!" Superwoman shouted.

"Some sacrifices must be made in order for peace to be achieved." Zod said to her.

"You're insane." Lantern said as he and the others began to regain conscious. And was roughly grabbed by the back of the neck and lifted in the air by Non.

"True genius is often mistaken for insanity. Zod will make a leader that you can only imagine." Ursa said.

"And you obviously don't get out that much." Monique said.

"How are you controlling them Zod? It's not the fortress, or that little radio tower you made in the Phantom Zone." Superwoman said to her Godfather.

"And I'm not one of these pathetic creatures you have foolishly chosen to protect. You have a brain, Kara. Use it." Zod said to her.

"It's Brainiac, isn't it?" she asked him.

"Correct, Kara Jor-El." The living machine said to her.

"Brainiac." Zod warned.

"There is nothing she can do to stop it. In one hour's time, I will have completed the tera-forming process."

"That's all I needed to hear." Batman growled as he leapt from his hiding place and quickly tossed a small device on Brainiac's chest. Within seconds, the device exploded and sent the machine spiraling onto his back.

Using the opening, Superwoman quickly flew upwards while putting both hands together and striking Zod upwards. The rest quickly engaged Ursa and Non while Batman kept his attention glued to Brainiac as it stumbled to his feet. The flesh that covered his chest, shoulders, and part of his abdomen had been burned away to reveal a combination of machine, bone, and organs.

Batman immediately launched a series of attacks to try and get the android off of its feet again, but the machine was either unfazed by the attacks or simply dodged them all together. Batman tried a roundhouse kick, but was soon struck in his hamstring with a fierce blow, which sent the Batman stumbling backwards. He couldn't believe the machine was strong enough to actually injure him through his suit's armor plating. Brainiac's tentacles were soon wrapped tightly around his neck and flung againt the side of a building, and then against the street before Brainiac reeled him in to look at him face to face. It hurt for him to breathe, it hurt for him to move. He could taste blood in his mouth, but it felt like it was from a broken tooth. At least he hoped. He didn't know how much more punishment his armor or he himself could take.

"A noble effort, Batman. But how would you stop me? Even the technology you employ is too primitive to do anything to me." The machine said.

"Whatever it takes." Batman growled.

Brainiac answered his remark with a small chuckle. "A bold statement. But I have studied you as much as I have studied Kara. I know you would never willingly take a human life." Brainiac said to him, but was confused when the Batman began to chuckle in response.

"There's a small flaw in your logic." Batman said as he reached down to his utility belt and removed two sleek, black batarangs.

"Which is?" the machine asked.

"You're not human." Batman responded.

Brainiac's eyes grew wide with the realization of Batman's words and calculated the danger it was now in. With the swiftness of a fox, Batman unfolded the batarangs and jammed both of them into the side of Brainiac's head. Letting the Batman drop, the machine quickly grasped the two weapons and tried to dislodge them, but found that he couldn't. Each were generating a magnetic field strong enough to keep them in place. Then both began to beep. The beeping was slow at first, but then began to beep faster.

"What's happening?" the machine asked.

"A little surprise of mine. Give my regards to Skynet in hell, asshole." Batman said as he covered himself with his cape.

Both batarangs exploded at the same time, engulfing most of the android in a large fireball. When the flames dissipated, all that was left was half of a torso, with Brainiac's right arm hanging onto to what could barley be called a shoulder. The body convulsed one or two times while it staggered in place and the electronics and circuits went dead while the nerves in the body died. For one long moment, the smoking remains of Brainic simply stood in place before finally falling over and shutting down.

* * *

Zod struck Kim with an axe handle blow to the side of the face that sent her spiraling to the ground. Using his speed and ability to fly, he jammed his knee into the small, causing her to shout in pain as he did so. A triumphant smile crossed his face as he jammed his knee further.

"Don't be as ignorant as your father. Don't make me destroy you." Zod warned.

"I don't know how Jor-El could ever think of you as a brother." Superwoman said.

"Then so – what's happened?" Zod asked as he looked up.

Superwoman had heard it to. The satellites, the energy they had been emitting had all stopped. Everything was powered down and returning to normal. She could not only hear it, but see it as well. Batman did it!

"What's happening?! BRAINIAC!" Zod shouted.

"Would you just shut up?" Superwoman shouted as she planted her fist firmly into Zod's abs, breaking through his armor and shattering his symbol as she did so. As Zod began to clutch his stomach, Superwoman preformed a roundhouse kick to his head slamming her elbow into the top of his head and shattering his chin on her knee. Not allowing him time to even feel the full onslaught of pain, she jabbed him in the chest with her right fist before giving him a left cross. Zod was halfway into his fall to the ground when she delivered a swift uppercut with her right, causing him to change direction and fall headfirst to the ground. If he had been human, the impact from all his weight on his neck would have shattered the bones it.

This would not happen. Zod, defiant to the end, stood back onto his feet and popped his neck back into place. He would not fall to the child of his jailer! HE didn't care how long it took. He will bring Krypton back!

"That was for my father." Superwoman said right cross and a left hook that sent him staggering backwards. "That was for my mother." She said as she placed two karate chops to the sides of his neck and bashing her head against his. "That was for me." She growled as she gripped the top of his armor and lifted him in the air. Zod was dizzy from the strong blows, and could barley stay awake. But a small amount of fear began to form in the pit of his stomach as he saw the anger that was evident in Superwoman's face. "AND THIS IS FOR KRYPTON!" she roared as she tightened her fist so tight that it looked as if her knuckles were fixing to rip through the skin.

The force of her blow against Zod was so powerful that the shock wave shattered the windows in all the buildings within a radius of two city blocks, and echoing almost as loud as a sonic boom. The force of the blow sent Zod hurtling two miles through Metropolis taking out corners and pieces of the buildings he came in contact with. He finally collided into one building with the force of the impact blowing out not only the floor he had crashed into to, but also the two floors above and below. Moments later, the entire building collapsed on itself, causing a giant dust cloud to roar through the city streets.

"My God. All those people" Flash said, catching up in time to see the punch.

"I'm not that reckless, Flash. That building wasn't supposed to open for another two months." Superwoman said.

"LOOK OUT!" Flash said and pushed Superwoman to the ground.

When she looked back to Flash, she saw his legs were being frozen into a block of ice. Looking further back, she saw Non stopped blowing as Flash's entire lower body was fully incased with ice. The others were also in the same situation as well, all of them frozen in place from the wait or crotch down.

"Non, start ripping them apart." Ursa said.

"NO!" Superwoman screamed as her eyes began to glow.

"**STOP!**" Zod shouted as he landed in front of all of them. Half of his face was beginning to look like a giant bruise, and his armor was falling apart. But that didn't diminish the threatening vibe he gave off. "I'll give you one more chance, Kara Jor-El. You can serve for the rest of your days, or I will make sure everyone in this city dies. Starting with these – pests." He said as he glared at the frozen heroes.

"How do I know you'll keep your word?" Superwoman asked him.

"Ursa, rip the head off the one dressed like the flying rodent." Zod said and smile as Ursa put Batman in a headlock.

"DON'T!" Superwoman screamed as she saw Batman starting to gag.

"DON"T DO IT, SUPERWOMAN!" he screamed, and felt Ursa's grip tighten around his neck.

"Leave him alone!" she shouted and turned to Zod. "You win, Zod. You win, I'll do it." She said.

"Kara, no!" Diana shouted.

"I don't have a choice." Superwoman said to her as she turned to face Zod. She was beaten. And seeing the sneer's on the faces of Zod, Ursa, and Non was making her sick. Ursa and Non soon joined them Zod at his side as he stepped in front of her.

"Now, you will kneel before Zod." He said to her. Zod smiled broadly as he saw Superwoman slowly kneeled before him; since it was the hardest thing for her to do. As she kneeled before them, looking ashamed of herself, Zod extended his hand to her like a master to a slave. "

Take my hand, and swear total loyalty to Zod." He said to her, treating her like she was a pet.

Slowly, Superwoman did as she was instructed. She reached out and grasped Zod by his outstretched hand. Zod smiled as she felt his hand embrace his, but became puzzled when she grasped it firmly and began to squeeze it tightly. That's when a white glow began to emit from their joined hands. Zod could feel a strange energy starting to jostle and shake their hands; almost like he was being shocked. He looked at Superwoman as she looked up at him and smirked.

"My father sends his regards." She said as she let go of his hand.

Zod looked at what she had placed in his hand, and saw a pentagonal shape crystal that was beginning to glow brighter as the symbol of the house of El appeared on it. In an explosion of light, the crystal opened a portal to the Phantom Zone and began sucking in anything within its range. Superwoman sunk her fists deep into the streets, clutching the pipe work below as the three Kryptonian criminals clung to the street. The vortex was unrelenting as it tried to drag the three criminals inward. Non lost his grip when a large chunk of debris hit him in the face and was sucked in while he screamed in his strange voice. Ursa soon lost her grip as well and was being pulled in. Zod reached out and grasped her arm firmly, but she soon started to slip from his grasp.

"ZOD!"

"HOLD ON!" Zod screamed to her.

Her arm slipped from his from the pull of the portal, and Zod watched helpless as she was taken into the Phantom Zone against her well, screaming the entire way.

"NO! NOOO!" Zod screamed as he watched her fade from sight. Zod tried to hold on tighter, not wanting to return to that prison. As he tried to grip the street tighter, his eyes widened in shock as he saw the asphalt crumple into rubble in his hands and found himself being pulled in.

"**JOR-EL!" **he screamed as he was pulled back into the Phantom Zone and was gone from everyone's sight.

The portal soon sealed itself closed, and the crystal exploded in a flash of light and its shards turned into powder that flew everywhere. Superwoman let a deep breath as she let her nerves settle. The battle had been won.

"N-n-not to d-disturb you, red. B-but can y-you help-p-p us o-out?" Flash asked as he shivered in his spot.

Using her heat vision, Superwoman melted the ice that had been holding her friends in place until they were free. As they began to move around to get the circulation going again, Batman limped over to her.

"That's what you needed from the fortress, wasn't it?" he asked.

"Yes. It was the heart of the fortress. Jor-El had placed a safety device in it if Zod somehow ever got hold of it." She said as he looked down.

"Are you all right?" Batman asked her.

"I'm fine. It's just-"

"SUPERWOMAN!"

"SUPERWOMAN, OVER HERE!"

Reporters were starting to gather around the heroes, and flashes from cameras being accompanied by the dozens of questions all were being asked. And at the head of the media mob was none other than Lois Lane herself. It figured her partner would be the head of pack. She just hoped Diana and the others were ready for this.

"Ready to be famous, J'onn?" she asked him.

"Not really, but I'll manage." J'onn said with a smirk.

"There goes keeping a low profile." Lantern said to himself.

"This isn't Global Justice anymore, Agent Du." Batman said to him.

"Du? As in Agent Will Du?" Superwoman asked, remembering the stiff pain in her butt agent she had to work with so many years ago.

"How did you – never mind." Lantern said as they walked to the crowd. "You started this little club, so I think you should answer the questions." He said to Superwoman.

"ME?" she asked.

"Would you rather let the Flash answer them?" Hawk Girl asked as they all saw the Crimson Blur hamming it up for the press.

"I get your point." Superwoman said as she walked up to the press and raised her hands for them to be quiet. "Ladies and Gentlemen, there's plenty of time to answer your questions. But please, one at a time." She said to them.

"Superwoman, what do you call your team?" Lois asked them, point blank.

"I don't know. The Super Friends?" Flash asked, getting a laugh out of the press.

"No, we don't call ourselves that." Hawk Girl said to them.

"Then what do you call yourselves?" another reporter asked.

"I guess you could say," Superwoman started before something came to mind. "you can call us - The Justice League." Superwoman said to them.

"Justice League? How corny can you get?" Flash asked himself, but earned a glare from both Batman and Wonder Woman. "Or we could go with that." Flash squeaked.

"Wait a minute. Where's the other me?" Superwoman asked the others.

* * *

No one had been watching her during the media frenzy, which gave her an excellent window of opportunity to escape. She took Metallo's head with her, and nabbed his body before she took to the air. She was hovering over Gough Tower and peeked inside for a moment. Sure enough, Miss Gough was walking around again and had returned to her good old green self.

"I have to admit, she does have a nice ass." The clone said as she took a peek through her clothes. "Okay Chrome Dome, let's see if you still work." She said as she placed Metallo's head back onto his body and used her heat vision to fuse the circuits. In a few moments, his eyes were glowing as he took in a deep breath.

"What happened?" he asked as he looked around.

"Even Foreman got a few punches in before Ali took him out. That guy ripped your head off before you could even expose the Kryptonite to him." She said to the cyborg.

"Have you looked in a mirror lately? Your make-up's running." He said to her, and looked at her reflection in his metal hide. More of her skin was becoming crystallized and starting to crack.

"Damn it." She said as she looked at the cyborg in the face. "Tell Miss Gough that I'm handing in my resignation. But if I feel kinky, I might come back for a booty call." She said to him.

"Tell her yourself." He said.

"I've got too many things to do, and I've been gone for way too long. Besides, I need a quick pick me up." She said as she punched her fist into his chest and grabbed the Kryptonite before ripping it out, and enjoyed listening to Metallo scream as she did so. Within a few moments, the chunk of Kryptonite had turned into a large crystal as she soaked in the energy and looked normal again.

"Have a nice fall." She said as she let both the crystal, and Metallo, drop and watched as both fell through the roof of Gough Tower. "I wonder what kind of trouble this little new born can get into." She said to herself before flying out of sight.

* * *

"An interesting development." The man said as he watched the large monitor in front of him, his voice sounding like the Earth itself was speaking.

"My Lord, now would be the perfect time to attack. They would be recovering from their battle with the,"

"No, worm. When the time comes for us to make our move, I want to face this – Superwoman - when she is at full strength. The battle between us would be that of legends." He said as he observed the monitor even more.

Below them, the man in black was leading Mr. Bruno Manheim through the corridors as columns of fire rose almost everywhere. The heat was unbearable, and the very air stunk of burning sulfur. Strange looking creatures that didn't even look human flew overhead, carrying staffs with sharpened blades and a spike on the end. They almost looked like monsters he had seen in old drawings and in movies.

"Where in God's name are we?" Manheim asked the man in black.

The man in black slightly chuckled as he turned to Mr. Manheim. "That depends on which God you are referring to." He said to him.

As Manheim looked all around him, his fear became overwhelming as he took in the monstrous and nightmarish surroundings that were all around him. Fear, panic were building and building inside of him as he began to hyperventilate.

"God forgive me. Please God, forgive me for my sins." Manheim started to beg. "I'm in hell. I sold my soul to the devil, and I'm in hell!" he began to moan.

"No, Mr. Manheim. You are not in hell. But if you ever disobey me, you will wish you were. I am your new Lord and Master, and you will obey every command I give you. And you may call me – Darkseid." He said to the small man as he looked at him with glowing blood red eyes.


	19. Epilog

Invincible 

By FAH3

Kim just stood and watched as the sunset over the Antarctic tundra, making it look like something you could only see in a work of art. It had been a while since she had just watched a sunset from the fortress, and she had almost forgotten hoe beautiful it was. Even thought the environmental systems were working perfectly, she felt a slight chill as she stood there in her crimson robe and tighten the sash a little more. So much had happened so fast that it was almost unbelievable. A deep sigh escaped her as she felt strong arms encircle her waist and kiss the top of her head. She leaned in to the embrace and enjoyed the added warmth and enjoyed how protected she felt at that moment.

"I've noticed how down you've been acting." Ron said t her.

"Have I been that obvious?" she asked him.

"KP, what's wrong?" he asked her. "Are you thinking about that friend you made in the Phantom Zone?"

"That's part of it. But there's also the crystal I used on Zod." She said and leaned into Ron's embrace even more.

"You said it was the heart of the fortress." He said.

"It was. It was also the crystal that built this place." She said as she sighed. "But it had more than that in it. It had all the messages Jor-El had left for me. All of them." She said as she looked down.

"You didn't access all of them, did you?" Ron asked her.

"No, I didn't. With those messages, it felt like part of my home world was still alive. Now, it feels like they're really dead. And if the fortress is ever destroyed, I can never rebuild it. I'm alone." She said solemnly.

"That's not true. Even if you are the last of your kind, you're never alone KP." Ron said as he held her tighter.

"Technically, I'm not the last." Kim said to him.

"What do you mean?" he asked her.

"There's something I want to show you." Kim said as she lead him out of the sleeping quarters of the fortress, and into the main chamber.

Kim had destroyed the machinery Brainiac had used to free Zod, and hurled Brainiac's ship into the sun. She didn't want to see anything that reminded her of that thing, or of Zod, for a very long time. As for Brainiac himself, Ron made sure that his company was the one that disposed of what was left of his body, and no trace of it was ever found.

As they ventured into the center of the chamber, Ron noticed something she had connected to the fortress' systems. It was the large dome that he had seen inside Brainiac's ship. He thought it was a power supply of some sort, but why would Kim want to keep it?

"Before I threw Brainiac's ship out, I discovered this thing. I'll give you three guesses what it is." Kim said to him.

"Is it something I should be worried about?" Ron asked her.

"I'm not sure." Kim said as she pressed a silver button at the base of the dome, and saw the metal shell open and retract. Ron gasped as he saw what was underneath it. It was a large glass dome that housed a sleek miniature city that seemed to have an alien design to it. But what made him gasp was when he saw the small creatures inside it that were actually using the tiny machines inside the city.

"Kim, what is that?" Ron asked her.

"I read the memory of the ship when I was making sure there weren't any booby traps. Somehow, Brainiac had perfected shrinking technology. You're looking at the colony that was on the planet Kandor. Before he destroyed it." She told him.

"You mean, there are living Kryptonians in that jar?" he asked her.

"Yes, there are. Micro machines in the base of it supply air and regulate the appearance of night and day to keep the eco-system alive. The sick machine took them as a trophy."

"Or to repopulate his new born world. Zod said he wanted to turn Earth into Krypton."

"He was going to replace humans with Kryptonians." Kim said.

"Or create a hybrid race."

"Ron, why did you have that technology? The red solar lamps, the gun?" she asked him and saw how he sighed.

"I was afraid." He said to her.

"Afraid? Afraid of what?"

"Afraid of what Jor-El had taught you, When you came back, you weren't afraid of using your abilities in public anymore. You changed a lot, Kim. Almost as much as I did. I thought that Jor-El had brainwashed you, or had tried to convince you to-"

"You thought I was going to try and do what Zod did." Kim said as she realized what he was trying to say.

"But I never employed them until Zod arrived. After I found out you were still who you were."

"Really? Was that before or after I slept with you?" Kim asked as her anger began to rise.

"That's not what I meant!"

"Then what did you mean, Ron? Tell me truth! Why didn't you go ahead and use those back ups? Why? WHY?!"

"BECAUSE I STILL LOVED YOU! BECAUSE NO MATTER WHAT, EVEN IF YOU DID BEOME ANYTHING CLOSE TO WHAT ZOD WAS, I COULDN'T DO IT BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!" Ron shouted as he breathed heavily. "Because I am what I've become, for you. I love you, Kim. I've loved you even before I realized it." Ron said to her.

"And if I had turned out like Zod?" she asked him.

"I still wouldn't have used them. I can't stand the thought of ever hurting you in anyway." He said to her.

She kept forgetting he wasn't the same Ron that she knew in Middleton. He had grown up, and changed so much. He was a different Ron entirely now, but there was still that small part of him she still treasured and loved. Slowly, never looking away from his eyes, she kissed him and wrapped her arms around him.

"No matter what happens, I'll always love you. Always." He whispered to her.

"I love you too." Kim whispered back.

The embrace was short lived when a monitor in one of the crystals came to life. On it was the face of J'onn as he cleared his throat to get her attention.

"What is it, J'onn?" Kim asked him as she turned to face him.

"We're a little busy here." Ron said.

"_I'm sorry to disturb you Kim, but we need your help. We're having a few problems getting the computers online. If we don't hurry, we're going to burn up in re-entry."_ J'onn said.

"I'll be there in a few minutes." Kim said to him.

"_I'll keep a hanger open for you."_ J'onn said and cut the feed.

"Do you have to go back to Gotham right away?" she asked her boyfriend.

"I think Gordon can handle the city without me for another day." Ron said with a smirk.

"Good." She said as she kissed him again. "I'll be back as soon as I can." She said as she dropped the robe, and shamelessly took her time walking back to the bedroom.

"You're going to kill me." Ron said as Kim laughed.

* * *

She didn't know how much she took for granted the feeling of wiggling her tows and moving her legs of her own free will as she felt the cool bed sheets, and slowly let out a moan of pleasure. Absent mindedly, she kept massaging and squeezing the muscles, like she was making sure they still kept their blood flow. She hated not being in control of her own body, and feeling so helpless. Being like that made her sick to her very core. And what was worst, she had to sit on the sidelines during that whole business with Zod. She still couldn't believe how that – tin plated freak had humiliated her. All her back ups and he anticipated all of them. Not to mention Metallo was being put back together, and was still off line. And that damn clone had escaped. She had planned on activating the tracking chip she had ordered Anderson to implant in her. But what did that crazed fruit loop tell her? He forgot.

She let out a slow and calming breath as she sat in her bed. She knew better now. It was just like when she was working for Dr. Drakken and she was beaten by Kimmie. It was a learning experience, and she knew what _not _to do. And she would apply her new found knowledge to everything she did. What was the old saying? What didn't kill you, made you stronger?

That was when she heard a tap on her window. She turned around and saw Kim was floating in front of her window, red cape and all. As she walked to the large window, she used her remote to open it and allow the cool evening breeze to fill her live in office. For minutes, all they did was stand there and look at each other. Neither said anything, neither did anything. They just kept looking.

"You cloned me, and you created a metal Frankenstein monster that's powered by something that could kill me. Why do you hate me so much?" Kim asked her.

"I don't." Sherri simply said. She hated this tough facade she had created all these years. She was sick and tired of what Lex had done to her. No more. "Metallo was created in case that cyborg pulled a double cross. I admit it was a mistake to use Corbin. I should have seen that when he tried to kill you. But I never wanted to him to kill you. And the clone – I admit that I exploited her. I thought I could have my own personal Superwoman. A super soldier. But even she left like a bat out of hell. I don't hate you, Kimmie. I – just – I didn't want to believe that my mother dying was just simply an accident. That my brothers and I over looked that damn rock." Sherri said as a few tears began to show themselves.

"But everything else you've done." Kim said.

"I did what I needed to survive. And I wanted to hurt LEx for what he did." Sherri said.

"Because he stopped loving you?" Kim asked her.

"Because he killed my child!" Sherri shouted, seeing the shock in Kim's face. "I was pregnant, Kim. A one in a million shot with my abilities. And he killed our daughter before she was born, to study it for a weapon. He didn't even shed a tear over the death of his own child." Sherri said.

"I-" Kim started, but didn't know what to say. She could hear her heartbeat, and saw that everything about her was normal. She was telling the truth. "How far along were you?" Kim asked her.

"Seven months, almost eight. He caused me to have premature labor, and he dissected her like a frog. I wanted to make him suffer, for what he did. And I became just like him. I'm not who I used to be, I admit it. But I – I don't want to loose the one friend I've always had. Please, Kim. I'm sorry." Sherri said to her.

"Sherri, you've done so many horrible things. I'm sorry, Sherri. But I have to so what I feel is the right thing to do." Kim said to her, and saw the hurt in Sherri's face. It was hurting her too, but it was the truth. It was who she was.

"I'm not going to stop what I need to do to survive. I'll do what I have to." Sherri said to her.

"And I will always be here, old friend." Kim said and started to fly upward, but looked back one last time. "I'll be watching you Sherri." Kim said before she flew off into the night sky.

Sherri closed the window and walked over to her desk. She didn't even look at her desk as she pressed the intercom button.

"Merci, any luck finding any Kryptonite samples?" she asked.

"_Not yet, but we may have just learned of a hot spot not too far from Addis Abbabah."_ Merci reported.

"Keep me informed. Call me when you find a good specimen." Sherri said.

"_Will do."_ Merci said and cut the transmission.

With a long stretch and a yawn, Sherri shed what was left of her clothing and crawled back into her waiting bed. She relished the feeling of the sheets against her bare skin and made herself comfortable. A satisfied growl came from her throat when she felt the slim set of fingers begin to dance around her skin.

"Nice sob story. Watch too many soap operas?" the owner of the fingers asked as Sherri turned to face her.

"You would be amazed at some of the crap I can think off as she reached up and moved a small portion of red hair out of her new bed mate's face and looked into the pair of green eyes.

"Baby, you deserve an Oscar for that performance. I even thought you were telling the truth for a moment." Kim's clone said as she began to circle her fingers around Sherri's flat stomach and slowly travel lower.

"I learned how to lie like a pro at and early age. Now where were we?" she asked as she enjoyed where her new lover's hand now was.

"I think we were about here." The redhead said as she leaned in and kissed Sherri as hard as she could.

* * *

Kim flew high in the sky and soon reached the vastness of space. She could see League's new headquarters dead ahead of her as it floated there. The Watchtower was standing boldly as it kept an eye on her home. Now, the world wouldn't have to depend on only one hero at a time. As she looked to the horizon, she saw the sun rising in the distance. It was the start of a brand new day. AS she flew to the Watchtower, she smiled at the brand new day. She didn't know what the future held, but she would be ready for it as the world's greatest champion. She was the Woman of Tomorrow; and the Last Daughter of Krypton. She was Superwoman.

It didn't know how long it slept. It didn't know where it was, but it didn't care. He stumbled a few feet before slamming into the hard metal surface of the wall. With his one free hand, it felt the hard cold surface in front of him. With a growing growl of rage, he began slamming his fist against the wall. Each hit echoed in his prison. He didn't care, he didn't listen to it. It didn't know how long it would take him. He would be free. And when he was, revenge would be his.

THE END

* * *

PREVIEW! PREVIEW! PREVIEW! PREVIEW! PREVIEW!

Sequel to Invinicble!

* * *

Coming in January

The creature pushed itself through the layers of earth and rock, pulling itself free from the prison it had been in. It didn't know how long it had been imprisoned, or where he was. It just knew one thing. It would soon be free.

_The sewers belch me up  
The heavens spit me out  
From ethers tragic I am born again  
And now I'm with you now  
Inside your world of wow  
To move in desires made of deadly pretends  
Till the end times begin  
_

She couldn't believe all the destruction this creature had caused. So much horror and carnage, and the thing had done it all with one hand. She was pushing herself faster and faster to try and reach her friends. She could hear them fighting, and she could hear their bones break as this – this monster fought them. If she didn't hurry, the fate of her friends would soon be sealed.

_Is it bright where you are  
Have the people changed  
Does it make you happy you're so strange  
And in your darkest hour, I hold secret's flame  
You can watch the world devoured in its pain  
Strange_

Everything hurt. There was almost nothing but pain with every breath. How long had this fight last? How much longer can it last? She couldn't give up, that wasn't an option. No much how much it hurt, mo matter how much punishment she took, she couldn't fail._  
_  
_Climb my ribcage to  
The replays run for you  
Unhook my lights to peek behind the flash  
For I am crystal chrome  
I am shatter dome  
I am Kremlin king of angels avenged  
To destroy the end_

No one could believe what they saw. It was impossible. Just simply impossible. No one could move, no one could speak, no one could do anything. The shock was paralyzing as the dust cleared to show their worst fears. This just couldn't be happening.

_Is it bright where you are  
Have the people changed  
Does it make you happy you're so strange  
And in your darkest hour, I hold secret's flame  
You can watch the world devoured in its pain_

Nothing will ever be the same after this day. The whole world was in mourning and shock. It was like life itself had stood still as the horror of the days events sunk into the collective consciousness of the entire world.

_The zeppelins rain upon us  
The guns of love disastrous  
A shadow lies amongst you  
To defy the future cast  
_

There have been many days that people will never forget, and will always be remembered in history. The day Pearl Harbor was bombed, the day Kennedy was killed, and the day the World Trade Towers fell. Forever will those days be burned into history. And now so will this day.

_Is it bright where you are  
Have the people changed  
Does it make you happy you're so strange  
And in your darkest hour, I hold secret's flame  
You can watch the world devoured in its pain  
Strange  
Strange_

Where were you when Earth's champion fell?

Even though his cowl still covered his face, you still see how contorted in both unimaginable rage and unbearable pain his face was in. His teeth were bared as he ground them together as his muscles tensed. He could feel the MMP screaming to get out, but he just bit it back with all the agony that was tearing his mind, body, and soul apart. The anger and hate he felt towards everything was almost like heat coming off of him. Not even Diana dared to try anything.

"One day Diana, everyone on that world will look up to us while they scream and they shout 'Save us.' And I'll just whisper – no."

* * *

**Author's Note(s):** I know I wrote that preview like the Watchmen trailer, but that's how I honestly saw it. And I though Rorchact's qoute would be perfect as well for this. And I am going to include it in the story.


End file.
